IP LAW AND ADMINISTRATION IN TANZANIA

Presented by: Leonila KishebukaDeputy Registrar,Business Registrations and Licensing Agency [BRELA],

A. INTRODUCTION

B. NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK; i) TRADE AND SERVICE MARKS ii) PATENTS iii) INDUSTRIAL DESIGN iv) COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS

v) OTHER LEGISLATION

C. LEGAL IMPLEMENTATION i) CHALLENGES

D. EXTERNAL LINKS i) INTERNATIONAL

CONVENTIONS ii) REGIONAL E. SOME ON GOING INITIATIVES F. CONCLUSION

Genesis of IP in TanzaniaIP like other laws during colonial timewas imported through a reception clauseEvolution of IP and the set up of a legal

framework. Through revisions, global influence

What is IP?Are rights derived from protection of one’s

Intellectual creations, creation of the mind reduced into tangible things.

IP is not a union matter save for some aspects which are of international nature.

Zanzibar has its own legal framework.

Intellectual Property has two subsets: i) Industrial Property; administered by

BRELA & FCC (Fair Competition Commission)

ii) Copyright and Neighboring rights; administered by COSOTA

Other IP laws like Protection of New Plant Varieties (Plant Breeders' Rights) this is under the Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperative and Food Security.

Based on three major legislation administered by BRELA & COSOTA:

Trade and Service Marks, Patents, Copyright and Neighboring rights.

Governed by Cap 326 [R.E. 2002] It set out guidelines on the

administration of T/S Marks The Act is useful especially for SMEs to

enable them distinguish their products in the market.

Set out a dispute settling mechanism in the office of the Registrar from which appeals lies to the high court

Governed by Cap 217 [R.E. 2002] Deals with inventions Inventors by applying for a patent are

given protection which enables them exploit their inventions uninterrupted.

Time set to 20 years Technology to be disclosed in exchange

of protection

Governed by Cap 218 [R.E. 2002] Protects literary and artistic works,

expressions of folklore and related/neighboring rights

Duration of protection is life time and 50 years after death for a natural person and 50 yrs for a legal person from the date of publication.

Other laws; industrial designs, The Protection of New Plant Varieties (Plant Breeders' Rights), The Fair Competition Commission and The Merchandise Marks

Also forming part of the legal framework are the IP enforcing agencies: judiciary, customs Fair Competition Tribunal and Police

Individual IP Institutional arrangements: UDSM, Open University, SUA etc.

Enforcement mechanism is handled by courts, BRELA and FCC:

High Court on Industrial Property cases as a court of first instance in infringement and passing off cases. Deals also with referral and appeal cases from BRELA; the Registrar & FCC.

District Courts deals with Copyright cases.

Lack of adequate knowledge on Intellectual Property

Lack of Intellectual Property policy Inadequate capacity of enforcing agencies Lack of inter institutional IP coordination and

information exchange

i) Tanzania’s membership to International conventions:

Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and

Artistic Works PCT-Patent Cooperation Treaty World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of

Intellectual Property Rights[TRIPs]

ii)Regional Organizations

o Tanzania is also a member to The Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organization [ARIPO] and is a signatory to various Protocols administered by ARIPO:

o The Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs

o The Banjul Protocol on Trade and Service Marks

Single application covering member countries of your choice

Cost and time saving Avoidance of unnecessary competition Control of your IP in a large area

i)National IP strategy/plan - It is a plan to stimulate IP innovation, fully utilization of IP, legally protect IPRs and scientifically administrate IP, implementing the National Intellectual Property Strategy and to energetically improve IPR creation, utilization (commercialization),

Initiatives by BRELA/WIPO - organized a workshop aimed at introducing the concept of IP Strategy, articulating the importance of IP strategy, helping in identifying the IP assets with the aim of enabling the country to draft a National IP Strategy/Plan.

Review of Industrial Property laws: The aim is to have a single legislation with various chapters of current laws under one roof and will also be TRIPS compliant.The new Industrial property law will introduce the protection of Geographical Indication.

Branding strategy: This strategy will enable owners of IP assets to benefit by getting the real value of their products

• IP strengthening in Tanzania requires:• collective cooperation of all institutions dealing with

Intellectual Property. • Those institutions are Intellectual Property Offices,

Customs, Fair Competition Commission, Plant Breeder’s Rights Office, R&D Institutions including the Universities, Judiciary, Police and their respective Ministries as policy makers.

• End results:o motivation in innovativeness and creativity, o will also protect the well being of consumers. o technical and economical advancement of country

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION