An Examination of The Patents Act No.40 of 2016: Lessons drawn from Kenya and Seychelles
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Lusaka
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to draw lessons from the Industrial Property Act of 2014 Seychelles and the Industrial Property Act No. 3 of 2001 of Kenya on the best practices of regulating the patent industry in Zambia. This research also examined the legal framework governing patents law in Zambia and it also examined the international Patent laws and principles governing patent law. It also discovered that a patent is an exclusive right granted for the protection of an invention, which is a solution to a specific problem in the field of technology. It further discovered that an invention can be defined as a product or process that offers a new way of doing something, or a new technical solution to a problem. This research also discussed among other things that the Patents Act No. 40 of 2016 has got weaknesses as compared to the Industrial Property Act No. 3 of 2001 of Kenya because the Patents Act No. 40 of 2016 under section 9 protects board members from liability and states that no liability shall be incurred by any member of the Board by reason of any act or other consequent proceeding. It was discovered that the provision above gives a member of the board immunity from liability is bad because it enables them to escape liability even when another party has suffered loss as long as the act done is done in connection with any examination, investigation, act or other consequent proceeding. This research further discovered that the Patents Act No. 40 of 2016 has got weaknesses because it doesn’t provide for a provision that provides for estimates on how the board of agency spends their funds and this in turn leads to lack of transparency, which may in turn lead to misappropriation of funds. This research was qualitative in nature and relied on primary and secondary sources. The sources were obtained through desktop research. The primary sources that were relied on were mainly statutes while the secondary sources included review of books, journal articles, and online sources. The research also recommends that there is a need for Zambia to draw lessons from Kenya and Seychelles on the best practices on the best practices of regulating the patent industry in Zambia.