The Kenya’s Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) through a special edition of the Industrial Property Journal issued on 15 February, 2021 listed over 2400 expired trade marks which they intend to remove from the register of Trade Marks should the respective proprietors not file the renewal applications within 30 days from the date of notice.

The notice states that the proprietors of the trade marks were duly notified but failed to file applications for renewal of their respective trademarks.

Where the proprietor of a registered trade mark makes an application for renewal of a mark that has been published and pays the renewal fee together with the additional prescribed late renewal fee within thirty (30) days from the date of this publication, the trade mark shall be renewed and shall not be removed from the Register of Trade Marks

Where no application for renewal of a trade mark published for removal is received within thirty (30) days from the date of this publication, the trade mark shall be removed from the Register of Trade Marks

Once the trade mark is removed from the Register of Trade Marks, the proprietor may thereafter make an application for renewal of the mark upon payment of the prescribed renewal fee together with the additional prescribed restoration fee. The trade mark shall then be restored to the Register of Trade Marks.

The list of the affected trade marks may be accessed here.

Contributors: Patricia Muthoni                        Lorna Mbatia