In the lead-up to World Intellectual Property (IP) Day, celebrated annually on April 26, the Scinnovent Centre released its latest publication, Patents and Beyond: Intellectual Property Rights Acquisition in Kenya. The publication provides valuable insights into intellectual property rights acquisition trends and their implications for innovation and development in Kenya.

The book provides up-to-date factual information on the figures and trends of patenting in Kenya for the period 1990 – 2025. Based on panel data from Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI), supported by key informant interviews from subject specialists and documentary/policy reviews, the book answers the following key questions:

i) Who owns the patents protected in Kenya?

ii) How do foreign (international) patent applications and grants compare with national (domestic) applications/grants?

iii) In which economic sectors are the most patents registered? How does this align with Kenya’s long-term economic blue print – Vision 2030?

iv) How do the patent applications and grants vary by gender?

v) How have the patent trends evolved in the era of devolution?

vi) What are the collaboration patterns across Counties and countries?

vii) How are the linkages and networks across gender, institutions and sectors?

viii) What is the validity and expiry status of the patents protected in Kenya?

xi) What policy and governance changes have led to the observed trends?

x) What policy reforms are required to achieve desired levels of IP awareness, generation, uptake and utilization?

The study has used the KIPI database of patent applications and grants from 1990–2021. It captures key trends, dates and compares filings and grants by various actor categories, economic sectors, Counties and gender. To the extent possible, this analysis has been benchmarked with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) database and trends over the same period. The WIPO database and trends are used as a comparator to the Kenyan (KIPI) database and emerging similarities and contrasts highlighted.