Last year we launched our Trade Marks (TM) Database – a groundbreaking web-based portal for conducting free searches of recent trade mark applications advertised by Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI). The TM Database is now available here. It currently has over 40,000 fully searchable trademarks and this number is growing by the day as more applications are added to our platform.

As many may know, once a trade mark application has been examined by KIPI and the examiner finds no grounds to refuse a trade mark application, the trade mark is advertised in the Industrial Property Journal published monthly by KIPI to allow any interested party an opportunity to raise objections to the pending application prior to registration. The information contained in the Industrial Property Journal includes: the number and filing date, the representation of the mark, the class, the specification of the goods or services, the name and address of the applicant, any other claims or disclaimers.
As such, a typical search result from our database generates the following data on a given trademark: journal date, trademark number, name and address of applicant, date of application, class of registration, disclaimers, name and address of the applicant’s agent (in most cases, a law firm) and pictorial representations of the mark.
The TM Database also allows users to conduct an advanced search based on certain specific search parameters. For instance, an advanced search would be useful for a user who knows the trade mark application number but would like other details of the mark in question such as the registration classes. Other advanced search parameters include date of advertisement, trade mark agent on record and registration classes.
The screenshot at the start of this post illustrates just how handy our TM database is for anyone interested in trademarks applications in Kenya. The application in question is the subject of litigation between a local business man and the ruling political party in Kenya. In a media report here, the businessman claims that the Jubilee Party has infringed on his rights in the trademark “TUKO PAMOJA” which he registered in 2011. This fact is confirmed by the CIPIT TM Database. Therefore it remains to be seen how the court will deal with the merits of the trade mark infringement claim and whether the Party will apply to KIPI for expungement of the mark in question.