26 October 2026

Tanzania has taken a significant step towards promoting the effectiveness of African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) trade mark registrations.

Last year, the Tanzanian Appeal Court issued a decision (read our previous update here) in which it was held that ARIPO registrations had no effect in Tanzania because the Banjul Protocol had not been domesticated in Tanzanian law.

On 2 October 2026, The Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act was published as an amendment to the Tanzanian Trade and Service Marks Act. One of the amendments included in this Act introduce section 28A, which provides for the ratification of the Banjul Protocol and recognition of ARIPO trade marks designating Tanzania. While the Court of Appeal’s decision is not technically overturned by this amendment, it removes the basis for the Court’s decision by now expressly providing for the domestic recognition of qualifying ARIPO registrations.

The amendment provides that an ARIPO trade mark designating Tanzania, registered on or after 1 September 1999, is deemed to be registered. The Act expressly defines 1 September 1999 as the date on which the Banjul Protocol entered into force in respect of Tanzania.

The most fundamental changes to the registration of trade marks in Tanzania are as follows:-

• Existing qualifying ARIPO registrations designating Tanzania should now automatically be recognised without the need for re-filing, validation, national recordal or payment of an additional fee. This is provided that the ARIPO registration designating Tanzania is in force and the Registrar has not communicated a decision to the contrary to ARIPO.
• The definition of a “sign” has been expanded to expressly include three-dimensional/shape marks, colours, get-ups and holograms, meaning these non-traditional marks are now capable of registration in Tanzania.
• The protection for well-known marks has been strengthened, even where the proprietor has no business or goodwill in Tanzania, provided the mark qualifies for protection under the Paris Convention or Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). The new provisions also allow proprietors to restrain confusing use and prevent registration of marks that unfairly exploit or damage the distinctive character of a well-known mark. This also settles the issues raised by some recent court cases involving well-known trade marks, which we reported on here.
• Collective and certification trade marks are now registrable in Tanzania, affording associations, industry bodies and certification organisations a means to safeguard their marks that indicate membership, standards or other certified characteristics.
• Provision has been made for the Registrar to advertise trade mark applications before acceptance where they consider exceptional circumstances to exist. This was already being done in practice, but there is now substantive provision for it.

Although Tanzania now has a statutory basis for recognising qualifying ARIPO registrations, ARIPO has not yet formally lifted its suspension of Tanzania as a designation. Until this happens, national filing in Tanzania may remain the more cautious approach for new trade mark applications.

Some practical issues also remain to be addressed, including how conflicts between national and ARIPO rights will be treated and how ARIPO registrations will be reflected in the Tanzanian register and searches.

It must also be borne in mind that this only affects the registration of trade marks in Mainland Tanzania – protection in the island of Zanzibar is by means of a different set of rules and as such enforceability of an ARIPO registration in this territory is still uncertain.

Overall, the amendment provides much-needed certainty for owners of ARIPO trade mark registrations designating Tanzania. Brand owners with ARIPO portfolios should now review their existing Tanzanian designations and ensure that relevant registrations remain in force.

Our Africa team is well placed to assist brand owners in navigating the evolving Tanzanian trade mark landscape, including monitoring the formal reinstatement of Tanzania as an ARIPO designation under the Banjul Protocol. We will continue to keep you updated as the new Act is implemented in practice.