On the 23rd of July, the Kenyan Domain Registry KeNIC launched the second level domain(SLD) .ke. The launch of the SLD comes after the successful utilization of the third level domain name co.ke. The launch of the SLD is unique in that, it will be the first time that trade mark owners will get priority in registering their trade mark as a Kenyan domain name before the registration is opened up to the public. The procedure for registration is similar to the .africa domain name launched earlier this year. The .ke domain name registration will be rolled out in 4 phases In order to register a .ke extension during the sunrise period, trade mark owners will have to have a copy of their valid trade
Claire Brown from Rouse Africa attended the sixth session of the ARIPO Protocols Working Group in Harare, Zimbabwe on 12 and 13 June. The session was hosted at the ARIPO headquarters in Zimbabwe and focused on proposals submitted by stakeholders and member states, the operation and status of both the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs and the Banjul Protocol on Marks as well as any amendments to the respective Protocols. A major difference in this meeting as compared to the previous sessions is that a large portion of the working group session focused on the Banjul Protocol on Marks. This being significant as the protocol has faced various implementation challenges and is thus
