Patenting the un-patentable: Lessons for African patent systems from a review of patent subject matter exclusions in Kenya

• Pages: 58-74
• Date: 24 May 2019
• Author: Nzomo, V.
• Published date: 24 May 2019

PAT ENT I NG THE U NPATEN TA BLE:

LESSONS FOR AFRICAN PATENT

SYSTEMS FROM A REVIEW

OF PATENT SUBJECT MATTER

EXCLUSIONS IN KENYA



Research Fellow, Centre for Intellec tual Property and Informa tion Technology Law,

Strathmore Univer sity Law School, Kenya

   

Senior Lecture r and Director, Centre for Intellectual Pr operty and Information

Technology Law, Strathmo re University Law School, Kenya

  

Patents are sometimes rega rded as indicative of the pinna cle of innovation.1

A measure of respect is ofte n given to granted pate nts, in part due to t he

relatively strict and techn ical examination proces s that is often necessa ry to

obtain a granted p atent.2 The patent exami nation process ty pically includes

the evaluation of a number of substantive cr iteria. This work focuse s on one

of the threshold requirement s for a grant of patent, namely, subject matter

eligibility.

Recent statistics by the World Intellectual P roperty O rganization (W IPO)



             

Intellectual Pro perty Orga nization (ARIP O) and seventh on the African

continent, behind Tunisia, Senegal, Ca meroon, Morocco, Egypt and Sout h

Africa r espectively.3 Patents in Kenya are regulated by t he Industrial Propert y

Act 2001 (IPA 2001)4 and t he IPA Regulations of 2002.5 Section 3 of the

IPA 2001 establishes the Kenya Industrial Prope rty Inst itute (KI PI), being



         

not related to, nor do es it form part of, the PhD res earch of the author. The views expre ssed as

well as any erro rs in the work are solely those of t he authors.

   

1 B Sihanya Intelle ctual property and innovati on law in Kenya and Africa: Transferring technolog y 

for sustainable development (2016) 84.

2 L Bently and B Sherman (eds) Intellectual property 4 ed (2014) 375.

            

pubdocs/en/w ipo_pub_941_2016.pdf (viewed on 20 Febru ary 2017).

4 Kenyan Industri al Property Act 20 01.

5 Kenyan Industri al Property Reg ulations 2002.

58

(2017) IPLJ 58

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consider applications for and to gra nt industrial prop erty right s, is contained

in s 5 of the IPA 2001. There is a two-step criterion for deter mining patent

subject matter eligibility u nder the IPA 2001, of which both steps must be

            

      

second, the claimed invention must not be d irected to one of the two statutory

categories of non-patentable inventions, as dis cussed below.

One rationale given for the patent system i n Kenya originates from

utilitarian ism — without the possibility of patent prot ection, many people

might not risk the time a nd money involved in devising and perfecti ng new

products.6 Therefore, the theoretical assu mption underpi nning the patent

              

inventor discloses the knowledge embodied in a n invention to the state in

trust for the public.7 This exchange require s two key functions, na mely, a

gatekeeping funct ion and an information function.

The gatekeeping fu nction means that the st ate-operate d patent

            

inventions pertai n, those expert s having the capacity to evalu ate the merits

of the claimed inventions in ter ms of subject matter eligibility a nd other

substantive require ments for grant of patents.8 Patent exam iners at the patent

 

The information f unction means that the patent system in Kenya faci litates

knowledge sharing by mak ing available to the public patent information that is

vital for entrepreneu rs, researchers, inventors, academ ics and others who need

    9 A compliant pate nt application

           

   

are available for public inspection.

           

theory requi res a patent system to effectively implement the gate keeping

and information f unctions with resp ect to patentable subject matte r. Thus,

the central question a ddressed in th is paper is whether the patent syst em in

Kenya is adequately executing its gatekeep er and informat ion functions by

ensuring t hat patents are not gra nted for non-inventions and non-patentable

inventions. To respond to this question, we analyse the exte nt to which the

statutory re strictions on patent able subject matter accord with t he reality of

granted patents in Kenya.

Following this introduction, t he next section of this paper explores the

development of the law on patentable subject matter in Kenya; Sect ions 3 and

 

6 Kenya Industrial P roperty Off ice Guide to patent ing in Kenya (1994) 1.

7 J de Beer, C Arms trong, C Ogua manam and T Sc honwetter (eds) Innovat ion & intellect ual

property: Coll aborative dy namics in Afr ica (2014 ) 234.

8 Ibid.

9 Kenya Industrial P roperty Off ice (n6) 1.

PATENTING THE UNPATENABLE 59

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