By Cynthia Nzuki and Jaaziyah Satar*

The Strathmore Law Clinic kick-started an initiative known as the Ubunifu Initiative. This initiative is a project of the Intellectual Property Division of the Strathmore Law Clinic (website here) that is aimed at promoting the effective use and exploitation of creativity and innovation through the development and sensitization of intellectual property law. The initiative was organized as a series of four weekly sessions scheduled on Fridays in the month of August and September. During the sessions, the attendees shall engage in discussions about what Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) This included what IPRs are; which IPRs would be of interest to them; which IPRs they might already hold; how to secure, protect and register IPRs in Kenya. The conversation will extend to sessions on how to maximize IPR benefits; dealing with government regulators and their specific requirements and any other area of that may be of interest to those in attendance that they wish to address (further details)

The first session was held on the 23^rd of August 2019, and it focused on creatives; particularly photographers, videographers and content creators (for example bloggers and vloggers). From CIPIT, Jaaziyah Satar and Cynthia Nzuki were featured as panelists.

It was surprising to note that many individuals in the creative industry had little or no knowledge of IP and IPRs even though the industry is founded on creations of the mind (IP). Similarly, it was interesting to note that individuals from the business of the legal field were unaware of the issues that creatives go through.

 It was, however, refreshing to see the willingness to receive information about and generate an understanding of IP and IPRs. During the session, the team tackled topics on how one’s intellectual property rights accrue especially copyright; the nature of rights embodied in copyright; what rights one gets; registration of copyright; what comprises of infringement IPRs and the available exceptions; the various causes of action available to copyright owners. The conversation extended to image rights; transfer of copyright from holder to another, among other topical issues.  The sessions were interactive where those in attendance also got to share their experiences and answer some of the questions that were posed.

This was the first session of four with the next one coming up on Friday 30^th of August 2019. The sessions’ focus industry remain the creatives particularly the musicians, authors, and performing artists. CIPIT will once again participate as a panelist.

To RSVP, simply send an email to keli.muema@strathmore.edu expressing your interest to attend and specifying whether you wish to attend all the sessions or, if not, which specific sessions you wish to attend.

*Cynthia and Jaaziyah are intern-researchers at CIPIT and are developing into prolific (and at times voracious) writers on the Blog. Expect more updates and content from the two.