Recent judicial scrutiny has exposed significant gaps in how this public participation obligation is implemented. In Petition No. E076 of 2024: Mundia v KECOBO & Others, the High Court held that the window of three (3) working days granted by KECOBO for public participation on the 2023–2024 draft copyright tariffs was unreasonably short and failed to meet constitutional standards. As a result, the Court declared the tariffs unconstitutional and invalid, reaffirming that meaningful stakeholder engagement, both quantitatively and qualitatively, is a prerequisite for lawful tariff formulation. Outside of the processes prescribed under the Regulations, KECOBO must ensure that affected stakeholders are given adequate time and information to influence outcomes, and that their input is genuinely considered before final tariffs are gazetted.
Please click here to read our analysis of this decision and its implications for the formulation of copyright tariffs in Kenya.
This article first appeared in WTR Daily, part of World Trademark Review, in (August/2025). For further information, please go to www.worldtrademarkreview.com.
