Tanzania’s Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2026 amends the trade mark regime. It received Presidential assent on 19 September 2026 and was published in the Government Gazette on 2 October 2026.
What changes
- Collective and certification marks are expressly protected.
- Three-dimensional marks, colours, get-up and holograms become registrable.
- Owners of well-known marks can seek injunctions against confusingly similar marks on similar goods or services without a local registration, and registration of marks that unfairly take advantage of a well-known mark is barred.
- The Registrar may, in exceptional circumstances, advertise an application before acceptance.
- ARIPO registrations designating Tanzania are recognised, unless the Registrar notified ARIPO that they would have no effect, with retrospective recognition to 1999. This responds to the Court of Appeal’s 2025 ruling that ARIPO registrations did not confer enforceable rights in Tanzania.
The commencement date of individual provisions was not stated in the source reviewed.
Sources
- Tanzania Strengthens IP Protection Through Legislative Reforms, Adams & Adams via Mondaq, 21 October 2026
Part of The Meridian’s Africa IP database (record type: regulatory and policy).
