A business can own a trademark in one country and have no registered trademark right in the country next door. That surprises founders because brands travel easily. A website can reach Nairobi, Kampala, Dar es Salaam and Kigali in seconds; the legal protection of the name does not move with the website.

The basic reason is territoriality. Trademark rights are granted under national or applicable regional and international filing systems for specified territories, goods and services. A foreign registration is valuable evidence of a business’s brand history, but it should not be treated as an automatic East African shield.

This guide uses Kenya, Uganda, Mainland Tanzania and Rwanda to explain what a business should check before launching a foreign brand.

A company name is not the same legal asset as a trademark

Registering a company answers a corporate-registration question: may that entity operate under the registered corporate name? Trademark registration answers a different question: may the proprietor claim the statutory brand rights attached to a mark for specified goods or services?

The two systems can therefore produce an uncomfortable result. A company registry may accept a corporate name while another trader already owns, or is applying for, a confusingly similar trademark. Conversely, a business may own a trademark without using the identical wording as its incorporated company name.

Before incorporating a new local subsidiary, search both systems. Do not rely on the company-name search as proof that the brand is free to use. The cost of changing stationery and a website is small compared with changing a brand after products have entered the market.

A domain name is an address, not a national trademark registration

The same distinction applies online. Registering a .com or country-code domain gives control of that internet address under the registrar’s terms. It does not by itself create the bundle of statutory trademark rights that comes from registration under the relevant trademark law.

A business should therefore search the proposed brand before buying a portfolio of domains. It should also monitor domain registrations that imitate the brand, but disputes about domains and disputes about trademark infringement are not always the same proceeding.

Social-media usernames create a similar problem. Platform account ownership is governed partly by the platform’s rules. A company should secure important usernames early, while recognising that platform verification or username ownership is not a substitute for legal trademark protection.

Kenya requires a Kenyan trademark strategy

The Kenya Industrial Property Institute, KIPI, administers trademark registration. KIPI describes a trademark as a sign used to distinguish goods or services and requires an application to identify the goods or services for which protection is sought. Its current guidance recommends a search before filing and states that a foreign applicant must act through a local agent.

That makes the pre-launch search important. A foreign brand that has existed for twenty years elsewhere can still face a Kenyan problem if another party has earlier local rights or a confusingly similar registration.

Classification also matters. Registering a word for one category of goods does not necessarily give unlimited rights against every use of the word. A business expanding from software into financial services, clothing or hospitality should review whether its original classes still match what it actually sells.

Uganda has its own register and procedure

The Uganda Registration Services Bureau, URSB, administers trademark registration in Uganda. Its current procedure begins with a search, followed by an application identifying the mark and class of goods or services. URSB states that a foreign company applying through the Ugandan system requires a power of attorney or authorisation to a qualified local agent. Accepted applications are advertised, providing an opposition period before registration.

A foreign business should therefore avoid assuming that a Kenyan registration is enough for Uganda merely because goods move through the East African Community. Regional economic integration has not replaced national trademark registers with one universal EAC trademark.

The same principle should shape distributor agreements. If a Ugandan distributor will use the foreign owner’s brand, the contract should state who owns the mark, what uses are authorised, who may file applications and what happens to local registrations when the distribution relationship ends.

Tanzania needs an extra geographical check

For Mainland Tanzania, the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency, BRELA, administers trade and service marks under the Trade and Service Marks Act. Current BRELA materials provide the application, opposition, renewal and agent forms used in the system.

Businesses must also notice the Zanzibar distinction. The Zanzibar Business and Property Registration Agency, BPRA, operates its own industrial-property registration service, including applications for trade and service marks. A company planning to trade both on Mainland Tanzania and in Zanzibar should therefore not treat “Tanzania trademark registration” as a phrase that answers every territorial question without checking the applicable registry.

That is a good example of why a brand-protection plan should be built around actual markets rather than a map coloured with national borders.

Rwanda requires its own protection decision

Rwanda’s Office of the Registrar General within the Rwanda Development Board provides trademark application and search procedures. Current RDB material refers to the 2024 law on the protection of intellectual property and maintains separate trademark forms and fees.

A foreign business entering Rwanda should search before launch, identify the correct goods and services, and decide whether the word mark, logo or both require protection. Registration of a Rwandan company, trade name or domain should not be treated as a replacement for that trademark analysis.

Licensing also deserves attention. If a local franchisee or distributor is permitted to use the brand, the licence should define territory, products, quality standards, marketing use and the consequences of termination. Where local law requires recordal or other formalities for a licence to have particular effects, those steps should be checked.

Regional filing routes can help, but they do not cover every country automatically

International and regional filing systems can reduce duplication, but they should be used with precision.

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization’s Banjul Protocol creates a regional trademark filing route for its contracting states. WIPO’s current treaty information lists Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania among Banjul Protocol contracting parties. Kenya and Rwanda are members of ARIPO under the Lusaka Agreement, but they are not listed as Banjul Protocol contracting parties. An ARIPO trademark filing should therefore not be described loosely as “covering East Africa.”

The Madrid System can also provide an international filing route where the applicant and designated countries satisfy the treaty requirements. It is not a worldwide trademark. The applicant selects territories, pays applicable fees and remains subject to examination or refusal in designated jurisdictions.

A sensible regional strategy therefore starts with the countries in which the business actually sells, manufactures, franchises, advertises or expects to expand. The filing system is chosen after that commercial map is clear.

Copyright protects different things

A logo may contain original artwork that attracts copyright protection. Website text, photographs, packaging artwork, software and marketing materials may also be copyright works. Copyright is valuable, but it does not answer exactly the same question as trademark law.

Trademark law is concerned with signs that distinguish goods or services and with market confusion and brand identity. Copyright protects original expression. A business should not avoid trademark registration on the theory that “the logo is copyrighted.” The two rights can overlap, but each has a different legal function.

The same distinction matters when commissioning creative work. A designer may create a logo, an agency may build the website and a photographer may take product images. The contract should deal expressly with ownership or licensing of the resulting rights instead of assuming that payment automatically transfers everything.

Licensing and local partners can create ownership risk

A foreign brand often enters a new country through a distributor, franchisee, joint venture or consultant. That local partner may be the first person to suggest registering the mark. The foreign owner should make the filing decision itself and keep documentary control of applications, renewals and certificates.

The licence should state clearly that use by the local partner does not transfer ownership. It should address quality control, permitted presentation of the mark, domains and social-media accounts, counterfeit reporting, sub-licensing and post-termination use. If local law requires a licence to be registered or recorded for specific legal effects, complete that step.

Brand disputes are easier to prevent when the ownership documents pre-date the commercial disagreement.

The strongest regional brand strategy is therefore not “register once and assume protection travels.” It is: search each intended market, distinguish company registration from trademark registration, protect the relevant marks and classes, document local licences, and use regional or international filing systems only for territories they actually cover.

A brand can cross a border overnight. Its legal protection usually requires a deliberate filing decision.

Source note and disclaimer. This article is based principally on current guidance from the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Tanzania Business Registrations and Licensing Agency, Zanzibar Business and Property Registration Agency, and Rwanda Office of the Registrar General/Rwanda Development Board, together with current WIPO treaty information on ARIPO’s Banjul Protocol. Trademark availability and filing strategy depend on the specific mark, classes, territory and prior rights. This article is for general public legal education and is not a trademark clearance opinion.

Suggested citation:

Ronald Serwanga, “Defending Your Brand: East Africa Trademark Rights” East Africa Legal Insight (13 September 2026).