Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and

artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is the legal
rights that are granted to individuals or entities for their creative and intellectual creations.
These legal rights provide the creators with exclusive ownership and control over their
intellectual assets, allowing them to protect and commercialize their creations. Intellectual
property is categorized into several forms, each with its unique characteristics and procedures
for protection.

WHY IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTED?

 To provide an incentive to the innovators to be able to benefit from the result of their
endeavour.
 The legal protection of innovations encourages the commitment of additional
resources for further innovation.
 The promotion and protection of intellectual property spurs economic growth, creates
jobs, and enhances the quality and enjoyment of life.

FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

The most common forms of Intellectual Property include Copyright, trademarks, patents,
utility models, industrial designs, and geographical indications.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright refers to protection granted to authors, artists, and other creators for their literary
and artistic creations, generally referred to as “works”.

The kind of works protected by copyright include, but not limited to; literary and artistic
works such as novels, poems, plays, newspapers, adverts, films, musical compositions,
choreography, paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and architecture, maps, technical
drawings and Computer software, programs, and databases.

Copyright protection gives creators incentives in the form of recognition and fair economic
rewards.
HOW IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED?

A creative work is automatically protected by copyright after creation. The work must be
original and fixed into tangible form. Works are protected irrespective of their merit but must
not infringe another person’s work.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT.

Step 1: An application for registration is made to the Registrar of Copyright and an

application fee of UGX. 50,000 paid. A copy of the work for which protection is sought must
be attached e.g Books, CD, DVD.

Step 2: The application is then published in the Uganda Gazette for 60 days.

Step 3: If no objection is made to the registration of the said right, a certificate of registration
will be issued to the applicant. No fee is charged for registration certificate.

HOW LONG DOES COPYRIGHT PROTECTION LAST?

 For Natural persons, Copyright is protected for the lifetime of the author and 50 years
after his death.
 For Corporations/ Companies, Copyrights is protected for 50 years after the date of
the 1st publication.
 Anonymous work or works of unknown authors, 50 years after.
 Computer programs: 50 years after the program becomes available to the public.

ADVANTAGES OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION.

 Proof of ownership and easier protection from infringement.

 Maintenance of a Government record of copyright to assist the successors of the
owner since copyright lasts 50 years after his death.
 Encourages creativity through easy access to authors by users who pay remuneration
for use.
  Puts culture on record.

TRADEMARKS

A trademark is a distinctive sign that identifies certain goods or services produced or

provided by an individual or a company from those of other enterprises. A Trademark may
consist of any word, symbol, design, slogan, logo, sound, smell, colour, label, name,
signature, letter, numeral, or any combination of them and should be capable of being
represented graphically. The Trademark must be distinctive, non-descriptive and not likely to
cause confusion. The Trademark owner has the exclusive rights to prevent others from using
the same or confusingly similar mark.

WHY REGISTER A TRADEMARK?

Registration of a trademark gives the owner an exclusive right to use the registered mark on
the goods and/or services for which it is registered.

The owner of a registered mark can sue for infringement of his registration if someone else
uses the same or a similar mark on the same or similar goods and/or services for which the
mark is registered.

Registration gives one’s business the ability to distinguish itself from other providers in the
market and prohibits others from capitalizing on an enterprise’s marketing efforts and good
will.

WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING FOR A TRADEMARK?

Step 1: A person who intends to apply for the registration of a trademark shall carry out a
search to ascertain whether the trademark exists in the register upon payment of a prescribed
fee.

Step 2: A trademark application is then filed upon payment of application fees. The
application should contain the mark proposed to be used, the class of goods or services, the
name, address, and the signature of applicant. If the applicant is a foreign company, a Power
of Attorney or Form of Authorization (TM no. 1) to an agent (Advocate of the High Court)
will be required.

Step 3: The application is then examined to determine its inherent registrability and conflict
with prior existing registrations /applications.

Step 4: If accepted, the application will be advertised in the Uganda Gazette for 60 days.

Step 5: If there is no opposition after the expiration of 60 days of the advertisement, the
Registrar shall upon payment of the prescribed fee by the applicant enter the Trademark in
the register and issue a Certificate of registration.

HOW LONG IS A TRADEMARK VALID FOR?

A trademark is valid for seven years from the filing date of the application and may be
renewed indefinitely for successive ten-year periods upon payment of the prescribed renewal
fee.

WHO MAY APPLY FOR A TRADEMARK?

Any person or corporation who is the owner of a mark used, or proposed to be used, by him
in Uganda, may make an application for the registration of a mark in this country.

Applications may be made either by the owners of marks or by agents in the names of and on
behalf of the owners. The agent must be an Advocate of the High Court.

TRADEMARK FEE

CATEGORY AMOUNT (UGX) AMOUNT (US$)

SEARCH REPORT FEE 25,000 65
APPLICATION FEE 50,000 150
REGISTRATION FEE 100,000 250

Utility Models
A Utility Model is an exclusive right granted by the government for an innovation/invention,
which is either a product or process that offers a new technical solution to a problem.

A product or process that is new and is useful can be protected using this system. Their term
of protection is 10 years. Registration for a utility model is simple and fast and gives the
holder the right to exclude others from exploiting the protected innovation/invention.

Utility Models provide protection for incremental improvements to products and processes,
and it is very relevant for SMEs. For Example: Printing- roller cleaning system, fruit sorting
machine, simple bottle cleaning machine etc.

Patents

A patent, like a utility model, is an exclusive right granted by the government for an
invention. Protected inventions can range from simple things like a safety pin to sophisticated
items like juice processing machine.

An invention that is Novel, Inventive and is industrially applicable may be granted using a
Patent. The term of protection for patents is 20 years. For the patent to remain in force the
patent holder is required to pay annual maintenance fees.

Requirements for protection.

Novel /New – The invention/innovation should not be disclosed in any publication anywhere.

Inventive step - The new product or process should not be obvious to a person skilled in the
art.

Industrial Application - The invention can be made or used in some kind of industry.

Rights of a Utility Model/Patent Holder

 Decide who may or may not exploit the protected invention.

 Permit/license the use of the invention on mutually agreed terms or sell the invention
outright.

REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

Step 1: Submit a filled patent application form, attach a patent document having a title,
abstract, description, claims and drawings and attach proof of payment.
Step 2: URSB receives the document and accords it a filing date and a patent application
number.

Step 3: An application found to be in order is subjected to substantive examination to

determine.

if the claimed invention fulfils all requirements for patentability.

Step 4: Applicant is notified on grant/refusal of a patent. The applicant is then requested to

pay the grant fees and thereafter issued a Certificate of Grant of a patent.

Fees for applicants.

PATENT MODEL UTILITY MODEL

FEE FOREIGN LOCAL FOREIGN LOCAL
(US$) FEE (UGX) FEE (US$) FEE (UGX)
APPLICATION FEE 100 100,000 50 30,000
EXAMINATION FEE 250 150,000 - -
GRANT/ CERTIFICATE 100 90,000 50 50.000

Industrial Design

An Industrial Design is defined as the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of a useful article

(product). The design may consist of three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface
of an article, or two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines, or colour.

An industrial design in simple terms is the appearance of a product, it’s what makes a product
attractive and appealing to a consumer’s eye.

Industrial designs are applied to a wide variety of products of industry and handicraft items:
from packages and containers to furnishing and household goods, from lighting equipment to
jewellery, and from electronic devices to textiles. Industrial designs may also apply to graphic
symbols and graphical user interfaces (GUI)

Industrial design rights are granted for FIVE (5) years renewable for two more consecutive
five-year term.

Industrial design protection does not protect the technical features of the product.
For a design to be protected, it must be:

New - there is no identical design already available to the public before the date of filing, or
application for registration.

Original-must be independently created by designer, and not a copy or imitation of existing

designs.

Industrial Design Application Procedure

The applicant should have:

 Filled Industrial Design Application Form.

 Drawing or other adequate graphic representation of article (product).
 Description identifying features that constitute the design.
 Power of Attorney, where applicant is represented by an Attorney.
 Receipt of payment of application fees.

Note: Where the applicant is not the creator, the request shall be accompanied by a statement
justifying the applicant’s right to the registration of the industrial design.

Step 1 Apply to URSB.

Step 2 Formalities Examination of the application.

Application is checked to determine if all requirements for application have been provided
and is then accorded an application number and filing date.

Step 3 Substantive examination of application.

The application is examined to determine if the design is new and original.

Step 4 Publication of application.

If the design is acceptable for registration, a gazette notice is issued to the applicant to
advertise in the Uganda Gazette for 90 days.
Step 5 Certificate of Registration.

If there is no opposition after the expiration of 90 days of the advertisement, the Registrar
shall issue a certificate of registration upon payment of the registration fee by the applicant.

Industrial Design Fees

CATEGORY AMOUNT (UGX) AMOUNT (US$)

APPLICATION FEE 50,000 100
CERTIFICATE FEE 20,000 20
RENEWAL FEE 100,000 250

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical
origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a
GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. In addition, the qualities,
characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin.
Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link
between the product and its original place of production.

What rights does a geographical indication provide?

A geographical indication right enables those who have the right to use the indication to
prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards.
For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected,
producers of Darjeeling tea can exclude use of the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in
their tea gardens or not produced according to the standards set out in the code of practice for
the geographical indication.

However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone
from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that
indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right
over the sign that constitutes the indication.

For what type of products can geographical indications be used?

Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and
spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products.

How are geographical indications protected?

There are three main ways to protect a geographical indication:

 so-called suigeneris systems (i.e. special regimes of protection)

 using collective or certification marks; and
 methods focusing on business practices, including administrative product approval
schemes.

These approaches involve differences with respect to important questions, such as the
conditions for protection or the scope of protection. On the other hand, two of the modes of
protection — namely suigeneris systems and collective or certification mark systems — share
some common features, such as the fact that they set up rights for collective use by those who
comply with defined standards.

Broadly speaking geographical indications are protected in different countries and regional
systems through a wide variety of approaches and often using a combination of two or more
of the approaches outlined above. These approaches have been developed in accordance with
different legal traditions and within a framework of individual historical and economic
conditions.

Others Intellectual property;

Trade Secrets

Trade secrets are confidential business information, such as manufacturing processes,

formulas, and customer lists. Trade secrets are not registered but protected through
confidentiality agreements, contracts, and security measures to prevent unauthorized access.