CLDP and the Kenya Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA), in collaboration with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS), the International Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, organized a three-day regional workshop entitled “The Implementation of an Interagency Approach to IP Protection and Enforcement: Kenya and the EAC.” The workshop, held August 7-9, 2012 in Nairobi, worked to facilitate the determination, by approximately 80 officials from Kenya and across the East Africa region, of the best way to implement an interagency approach to IP protection and enforcement.

CLDP utilized experts from the USPTO and DOJ as well as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to investigate the aforementioned issues through interactive exercises of case studies and IP scenarios. The objectives of the program were 1) To impress upon the relevant Kenyan government and EAC region officials, the import of IP protection and enforcement to trade and investment, and therefore economic development of Kenya and the EAC region; 2) To encourage ministerial level participation and leadership in the CEO’s Forum. And; 3) To improve IP protection and enforcement at the working level through stronger communication, cooperation, and collaboration, between the ACA, partner agencies and private sector stakeholders.

By promoting an interagency approach among the key partner agencies and the private sector, the workshop aimed to contribute to establishing an effective framework and mechanisms by which counterfeited and pirated goods can be interdicted and removed from Kenya and the EAC region’s markets. The anticipated result is an increased efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness in the protection and enforcement of IP rights in Kenya and the EAC region.