TAXATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN KENYA

Innovation plays an important role in the growth of a business and is increasingly becoming a strategic pillar for any organisation that wants to be successful in today’s global economy. At the heart of innovation is the development and use of intellectual property (IP) in both the input and output of an organisation. IP rights exist in different forms such as copyright, trademarks, patents, designs and trade secrets, and provide the proprietor with an exclusive monopoly over the utilisation and commercialisation of the IP.

IP can be a business’ most valuable asset.  Forbes’ annual list of the World’s Most Valuable Brands of 2020 had Apple (unsurprisingly) at the top of its list, calculating its brand value at USD 241.2 billion and brand revenue at USD 260.2 billion, but there were other notable contenders. These included Toyota, ranked 11th, at USD 41.5 billion (brand value) and USD 187 billion (brand revenue), PwC, ranked 70th, at USD 11 billion (brand value) and USD 42.4 billion (brand revenue), and Lego, ranked 92nd, at USD 8.6 billion (brand value) and USD 5.8b (brand revenue).