Green frontiers in Kenya’s Trade Marks Act (No.51 of 1955): assessing the registration and certification of green marks

Abstract

The age of corporate sustainability has motivated organisations to adopt green marketing techniques to appeal to their pro-green consumers. An example of these techniques is using green trademarks and certification marks, which denote a product’s sustainability and ecological friendliness. The main problem outlined is that existing regulations appear not to have adapted to the novelties presented by the registration and use of green trademarks and certification marks. This has exposed consumers to unsubstantiated sustainability claims in Kenya’s Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market segment. The proposed research will examine the problem by employing theoretical underpinnings from the quality theory of trademarks, as propounded by Frank Schechter, to establish whether the legal framework can accommodate new green marketing tools in contemporary times. The study adopts a doctrinal legal research methodology to analyse statutes, court jurisprudence, and scholarly works to understand the aims and the scope of green marketing. The novelty of the research is likely to be found in the examination of the current regulatory regime against contemporary corporate sustainability standards, from which recommendations regarding the registration of green trademarks and certification of green marks in Kenya’s FMCG industry will be made.