APPRAISING THE MAINLAND TANZANIAN PATENTS’ LEGAL FRAMEWORK FROM INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: SUBSTANTIVE NORMS AND FEASIBLE CONFORMITY

Abstract

The Patents (Registration) Act, herein referred to as the Patents Act and its Regulations form the core of the legal framework governing patents in Mainland Tanzania, herein referred to as Tanzania. It has far preceded the international legal framework formed up mainly by the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement). The Patents Act was brought to the then Tanganyika before even Tanzania acceded to the Paris Convention. Since its introduction and later enactment, it has only once been amended to accommodate the prevailing situations. A cue is taken that for a patent law to feasibly work, needs frequent reviews to keep pace and align with the contemporary scientific and technological advancements. This situation has suggested a suspicion that the local framework may not be in conformity with the international framework. This work therefore appraises conformity of the substantive norms of the local framework with the international framework.