NOTIFICATION OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF APPEAL OF TANZANIA IN THE CASE OF LAKAIRO INDUSTRIES GROUP CO. LIMITED AND OTHERS VERSUS KENAFRICA INDUSTRIES LIMITED AND OTHERS (CIVIL APPEAL NO. 593 OF 2022)
Reference is made to the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal of Tanzania in LAKAIRO INDUSTRIES GROUP CO. LIMITED AND OTHERS VERSUS KENAFRICA INDUSTRIES LIMITED AND OTHERS (CIVIL APPEAL NO. 593 OF 2022) delivered on 26th September 2025. The Court of Appeal held, among other things, that Tanzania had not ratified locally the Banjul Protocol; therefore, the registration of trademarks using ARIPO’s Banjul system provided no protection under its domestic law.
TAKE NOTICE that forthwith, following the instruction of the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA), Tanzania is ineligible for designation under the Banjul Protocol until further notice.
ARIPO assures its valued users and esteemed stakeholders that Tanzania is pursuing all available legal, administrative and diplomatic avenues to expedite domestication of the Protocol.
Bemanya Twebaze
DIRECTOR GENERAL