Protecting Industrial Property Rights

The application for grant of a patent is published as soon as possible after the expiration of eighteen months from the filing date or, where priority is claimed, the date of priority. In the case of applications claiming priority, the term of eighteen months is construed from the original filing date and in the case of applications with two or more priority claims, the period is construed from the earliest priority dates.

The publication of the patent application is effected by publishing the particulars of the application in the Kenya Gazette or in the Industrial Property Journal.

Before the patent application is published, the applicant is invited to pay the publication fee.

Confidentiality of application before publication.

A patent application is kept confidential until the application is published. However the following may be provided to a third party upon request even before publication of the application.

1. the application number;
2. the name of the applicant;
3. the filing date of the application;
4. if priority is claimed, the priority date and the name of the state in which or for which the earlier application was filed and the number of the earlier application; and
5. the title of the invention.

see also

Grant, registration and publication of a patent.