The Role Of Intellectual Property in The Kenyan Fashion Industry

In the late 2008 a British Company attempted to register Kikoi a a traditional coastal fabric as its trademark failed after intervention by the Kenyan Government.

Thousands of East African entrepreneurs could have lost their livelihoods – and freedom to use a word from their language and condemn many to greater poverty.

Many Kenyans believe that the Kiondo was ‘stolen’ which is not a true statement. What has happened is that Kenyans simply have failed to commercialize the Kiondo either as a product patent or even as a design.

Although that ship has already sailed there is still an opportunity to commercialize the Kiondo through a process patent. This is what Japan is currently doing and Kenya is not.

The Japanese Patent Office database currently contains patented inventions able to produce en masse industrial woven baskets, some made of fabric or paper materials. Therefore for Kenyan entrepreneurs to utilize the kiondo, there must be more aggressive brand campaigns so that we retain that positive link of association between the baskets and Kenya.

Even after these and many more cases in Africa, very few African entrepreneurs have learnt any lesson.

Kenya like many African countries has a rich and diverse heritage with great commercial value which has not been protected and exploited.

In this article we are going to explore what Intellectual property rights best protect the fashion industry. To understand this we must first define Fashion!

According to the Webster dictionary;  ‘’A business of creating and selling clothes in new styles. Fashion covers any business that creates new designer items which could include perfumes, footwear, jewelry, apparels and other accessories.’’

The fashion industry is an extremely valuable and lucrative industry. The global value of the industry according to experts is valued at 1.2 Trillion Usd. The fashion industry just like other arts is losses revenue to copy cats and piracy.

Viffa Consult advices fashion designers to seek protection under copyrights, trademark laws and industrial designs.

Kenyans and their African counterparts are apathetic to intellectual property  and it is very common for a Kenyan to take a design from a catalogue or copy another’s design and demand replication from a tailor, carpenter or jeweler.

We advice fashion designer or any other artistic entrepreneur to seek expert advice from professionals such as Viffa Consult on info@viffaconsult.co.ke , victor@viffaconsult.co.ke  or call + 254 723 98 25 28/+254 786597376 /+254 703422670/+254 775 578148