Kenya mandatory IPR recordal: an innovative measure with an uncertain future

Abstract

Economic growth in Africa as well as its rising middle and upper class is a reality: household consumption in Africa has increased faster than the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP), which itself has consistently outpaced the global average. Consumer expenditure has been growing at a compound annual rate of 3.9 per cent since 2010, from US$1.4 trillion in 2015 to an expected US$2.5 trillion by 2030. It is therefore no wonder that brand owners are showing an increased interest in entering and solidifying their stakes in the African markets. One major issue faced by brand owners, however, is the wide availability of counterfeit and pirated goods in Africa. No product is spared, whether it be medicines, smartphones or copyrighted content such as music, film and software. According to World Health Organization statistics, 42 per cent of detected cases of substandard or falsified pharmaceuticals occur in Africa—this is more than on any other continent.1 A European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) study found that in Africa, 21.3 per cent of total sales of smartphones were lost in 2015 due to fake smartphones. This represents 7 million handsets with a total value of €1 billion.2 In Algeria, it is estimated that 60 per cent of creative content—in particular, music and film—are pirated copyright goods. Pirated software goes up to 84 per cent.3 This is only the tip of the iceberg: counterfeiting extends beyond these products and concerns industries as diverse as apparel, vehicle spare parts, electronics, household appliances, luxury goods and fast-moving consumer goods such as food products, toiletries and beverages.