Tanzania Introduces Key Amendments to Patent and Trademark Legislation Through the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 6 of 2026

Patent and trade or service mark rights are fundamental to the protection of innovation and commercial identity, enabling businesses to protect their inventions and distinguish their goods and services in the marketplace. Tanzania has continued to develop its intellectual property framework to strengthen the protection and registration of these rights.

On 2 October 2026, the Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act No. 6 of 2026 (the Amendments Act) was published in the Government Gazette, introducing several key amendments to the Patents (Registration) Act, Chapter 217 Revised Edition 2023 (the Patents Act) and the Trade and Service Marks Act, Chapter 326 Revised Edition 2023 (the TSM Act).

This legal update examines the key changes introduced by the Amendments Act and is divided into two parts: Part A sets out the key amendments to the Patents Act, while Part B sets out the key amendments to the TSM Act.

Part A: Key amendments under the Patents Act

Definition of ARIPO Office

The Amendments Act introduces a new definition of “ARIPO Office” into the Patents Act, to mean the Secretariat of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) established by the Lusaka Agreement of 1976. This definition clarifies the institutional body responsible for administering ARIPO’s regional patent system, including processing patent applications as well as granting and administering patents on behalf of contracting states under the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (the Harare Protocol).

Term of a patent

Section 66 of the Amendments Act repeals and replaces section 39 of the Patents Act. Under the new section 39, a patent expires at the end of twenty (20) years from the date of filing the patent application. This extends the term from the ten (10)-year period previously prescribed under section 39(1) of the Patents Act.

Term of a utility certificate

Section 68 of the Amendments Act amends section 74(5) of the Patents Act by extending the term of a utility certificate from seven (7) to ten (10) years from the date of filing the application.

Recognition of designs registered under regional or international instruments

Section 70 of the Amendments Act repeals and replaces section 76 of the Patents Act. Under the new section 76, the following designs are now recognised in Tanzania:

• designs registered under regional or international instruments in respect of which Tanzania is a designated state. This recognition does not apply where the Registrar of trademarks (the Registrar) has communicated to the relevant regional or international office, in accordance with the applicable instrument, a decision that the design, if registered, shall have no effect in Tanzania; and
• designs recognised under the Harare Protocol before the commencement of the new section 76, in respect of which Tanzania was a designated state. 

Repeal of the innocent infringer defence and Court powers relating to design rights

Section 71 of the Amendments Act repeals sections 77 and 78 of the Patents Act. The repeal removes the statutory defence previously available to an alleged infringer based on a lack of knowledge that a design was registered. It also removes the power of the High Court of Tanzania (the Court) to declare that design rights had not been acquired in Tanzania on grounds that would justify the cancellation of the corresponding United Kingdom registration.

Part B: Amendments to the TSM Act

Key Definitions

Section 136 of the Amendments Act amends section 2 of the TSM Act by replacing the definition of “trade or service mark”, deleting the definition of “visible sign” and introducing the following new definitions:

“Trade or service mark” means any sign or combination of signs capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings;

“Certification mark” means a sign or combination of signs capable of distinguishing, in the course of trade, goods or services certified by any person or entity in respect of kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin or other characteristics of the goods or services, or the mode or time of production of the goods or of rendering the services, as the case may be, from goods or services not so certified;

“Collective mark” means a sign capable of distinguishing, in the course of trade, goods or services of persons who are members of an association from goods or services of persons who are not members thereof;

“Date of entry into force” means 1 September 1999, on which the Protocol entered into force in respect of the United Republic;

“Protocol” means the Banjul Protocol on Marks within the Framework of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, adopted at Banjul, Gambia;

“Sign” includes, three-dimensional marks, stylised letters, words, colours or combinations of colours, numerals, get-ups and holograms; and

“TRIPS Agreement” means the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement of Marrakesh, Morocco 1994, as amended.

New categories of registrable marks

The Amendments Act introduces two (2) new categories of registrable marks under the TSM Act as follows:

(a) Collective marks

Section 16A provides that a mark capable of distinguishing, in the course of trade, the goods or services of members of an association from those of non-members shall, upon application in the prescribed manner, be registered as a collective trade or service mark in the name of the association.

(b) Certification marks

Section 16B provides for the registration of certification marks used to distinguish goods based on characteristics such as their origin, material, method of manufacture, quality, accuracy or other characteristics. Such marks may be registered in the name of the person certifying those characteristics, provided that the person does not carry on a trade in goods or services of the kind certified. The provision also addresses certification marks relating to services.

Distinctiveness of certification marks

In determining whether a certification mark is adapted to distinguish, the Court or the Registrar must have regard to the extent to which:

• the mark is inherently adopted to distinguish in relation to the goods in question; and
• by reason of the use of the mark or any other circumstances, the mark is in fact adopted to distinguish in relation to the goods in question.

Rights conferred by registration and infringement

Under section 16B (3) of the Amendments Act, the valid registration of a person as proprietor of a certification trademark gives that person the exclusive right to use the trademark in relation to the goods for which it is registered, subject to sections 16B (5), (6) and (7) and sections 33 and 34 of the TSM Act.

Section 16B (4) of the Amendments Act provides that this right is infringed where a person who is neither the proprietor nor authorised by the proprietor under the relevant regulating instrument uses, in the course of trade and in relation to goods for which the mark is registered, an identical mark or a mark so nearly resembling it as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion.

Limitations and permitted use of certification marks

Section 16B (5) to (7) of the Amendments Act provides that the use of a certification trademark will not constitute infringement in the following circumstances:

• where the mark is used in relation to goods sold or otherwise traded in a territory outside the geographical scope of the registration;
• where the mark is used in relation to goods exported to a territory outside the geographical scope of the registration;
• where the mark is used in circumstances falling outside the conditions or limitations recorded in the register;
• in certain circumstances, where the mark is used in relation to goods certified by the proprietor, including with the proprietor’s express or implied consent;
• in certain circumstances, where the mark is used in relation to goods intended to form part of, or serve as accessories to, other goods, and such use is reasonably necessary to indicate that relationship; and
• where two or more registered certification trademarks are identical or closely resemble one another, and one of those marks is used in exercise of the rights conferred by its registration.

However, the permitted use relating to certified goods does not apply where the application of the mark would be contrary to the relevant regulations.

Regulating instrument for certification marks

Section 16B (8) of the Amendments Act requires the proprietor of every registered certification mark to deposit with the Registrar a regulating instrument governing the use of the mark.

Under section 16B (9), the regulating instrument must:

• set out the circumstances in which the proprietor will certify goods and authorise the use of the mark;
• be open to inspection in the same manner as the register; and
• contain any other provisions that the Registrar may require or permit to be included.

Protection of well-known marks

Section 138 of the Amendments Act introduces section 19A into the TSM Act, providing express statutory protection for well-known trademarks protected under the Convention or the TRIPS Agreement. 

A mark qualifies for protection where it is well known in Tanzania as the mark of a person who:

• is a national of a convention country; or
• is domiciled in or has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in, a convention country.

The protection applies whether or not that person carries on business or has goodwill in Tanzania.

Determination of a well-known mark

In determining whether a mark is well known, the Registrar must consider all relevant circumstances, including:
the degree of knowledge or recognition of the mark within the relevant sector of the public;

• the duration, extent and geographical scope of the mark’s use;
• the duration, extent and geographical scope of the mark’s promotion, including through advertising, publicity and presentation at fairs or exhibitions;
• the duration and geographical scope of any registrations or applications for registration, to the extent that they reflect the mark’s use or recognition;
• the record of successful enforcement of rights in the mark, particularly its recognition as a well-known mark by competent authorities; and
• the value associated with the mark.

Enforcement and protection of well-known marks

Under section 19A (3) of the Amendments Act, the proprietor of a qualifying well-known mark may obtain an injunction restraining the use in Tanzania of an identical or similar mark, or a mark containing an essential part that is identical or similar, in relation to identical or similar goods or services, where such use is likely to cause confusion among users of those goods or services.

However, section 19A (4) of the Amendments Act permits the continued bona fide use of a mark that was already in use before section 19A came into effect.

Section 19A (5) of the Amendments Act also prohibits the registration of a mark, or an essential part of a mark, where its use is likely to impair or interfere with the distinctive character of a well-known trademark, or take unfair advantage of that distinctive character.

Advertisement of trademark applications before acceptance

Section 139 of the Amendments Act amends section 26(2) of the TSM Act to permit the Registrar, in exceptional circumstances, to advertise an application before accepting it.

Recognition of registrations under the Banjul Protocol

Section 140 of the Amendments Act introduces section 28A to the TSM Act. Under the new section, a trade or service mark registered by ARIPO on or after the date of entry into force, describing the United Republic as a designated state, is deemed to be registered under the TSM Act.

The exception is where the Registrar has communicated to ARIPO, in respect of the application and in accordance with the Protocol, a decision that, if the mark is registered, it shall have no effect in the United Republic.

Conclusion

The amendments to the Patents Act and the TSM Act introduced by the Amendments Act mark an important development in Tanzania’s intellectual property framework. The revised framework strengthens the statutory basis for the registration and protection of patent and trademark rights and will be relevant to rights holders, applicants and businesses seeking to protect their intellectual property interests in Tanzania.