Tanzania

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Round of 16 and quarterfinals have concluded, with eight nations exiting the tournament: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), DR Congo, Mali, and Mozambique. As an African IP law firm with associate offices across the continent, it is difficult to pick favourites on the pitch. Instead, […]

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament is currently underway in Morocco showcasing soccer talents and competitiveness of 24 African countries. This 35th edition of the tournament has proceeded to knockout stage wherein 16 teams advanced to “Round of 16” knockout stage.  Whilst these teams continue their quest to be crowned the African champions, we […]

ARIPO protection no longer extends to Tanzania. The Tanzanian Court of Appeal ruled that ARIPO trade mark registrations are not enforceable in Tanzania, confirming that the country has not ratified the Banjul Protocol. Details of the decision, as prepared by Mohamed Jameel Hamid, partner in Adams & Adams’ trade mark prosecution department, as well as […]

In a recent decision of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania (the country’s apex court), the validity and enforceability of a trade mark registration, designating Tanzania, and granted by the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (“ARIPO”) was called into question. While it was not disputed that Tanzania is a signatory of Lusaka Agreement and the […]

In a significant ruling, the Tanzanian Court of Appeal—the highest court for both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar—held that trade marks registered through ARIPO are unenforceable in Tanzania.   The Lakairo Case In Lakairo Industries Group Co. Limited v. Kenafrica Industries Limited  (Civil Appeal No. 593 of 2022), the Court ruled on trade mark infringement claims […]

On 1 September 2025, the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) issued a Public Notice announcing the implementation of a mandatory trade mark recordation system for all goods imported into mainland Tanzania. This notice does not include Zanzibar. This development follows the enactment of the Finance Act, 2025, which introduced Section 11A to the Merchandise Marks Act […]

On 28 February 2024, the Chief Justice of Tanzania announced the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the country’s judicial processes focusing on court transcriptions and interpretations/translations. Developed the Italian company, Almawave, the AI model is trained in various dialects of Swahili. Over the next four years, the system will be implemented in approximately one […]

Wilmer Resources Pte Limited (“the Applicant”), a company incorporated under the laws of Singapore, applied to register the trade mark TIFFANY in Tanzania in classes 3 and 5. The trade mark applications were opposed by Tiffany & Co. (“the Opponent”), the luxury jewelry and specialty design house. For purposes of efficiency, the two separate oppositions […]

Tanzania has joined the likes of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya in making provision for Data Protection legislation. The Data Protection Bill was expected to be tabled before parliament during the month of September 2022, following on-going talks on data protection. The Bill proposes the enactment of the Personal Data Protection Act of 2022. The […]

CLICK HERE TO VIEW JUDGEMENT In June 2021, Parliament passed the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Act, 2021, which Act proposes amendments to various pieces of legislation, including the Trade and Services Marks Act, (CAP 326) (“the Trade Marks Act”). The amendment to Section 5 of the Trade Marks Act makes provision for documents […]

Anti-counterfeiting training During October 2019, we travelled to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania to conduct Brand Identification Training at the REACT workshop with the Fair Competition Commission (“FCC”) officials to assist them in combating the sale of counterfeit goods in Tanzania. The workshop was very well attended by the FCC, the Director General of the […]

Tanzania is well known for having an economically active agricultural sector, an abundance of natural gas and of course home to the brilliant blue precious stones. In June this year, a local small-scale miner became an instant millionaire after selling two rough Tanzanite stones to the Government for $3.4m. The gemstones has a combined weight of 15kg (33 […]