Industrial Designs
Royal Mabati Factory Limited v Tongda International Company Limited & another (Civil Case E198 of 2020) [2020] KEHC 10320 (KLR) (26 November 2020) (Ruling)
Facts
Royal Mabati, a Mlolongo-based roofing manufacturer, claimed exclusive rights to Industrial Design Numbers 917-922 for iron-sheet profiles, alleging the Chinese-linked defendants sold identical or confusingly similar iron sheets. The defendants raised a preliminary objection challenging the High Court's jurisdiction to hear the design dispute directly.
Issues
Whether the High Court, despite its unlimited original jurisdiction under the Constitution, should hear an industrial design infringement claim in the first instance rather than the specialised Industrial Property Tribunal.
Rule
Industrial Property Act s.92(1)-(3), s.106 (Tribunal relief), s.115 (appeals to the High Court); Constitution arts 165(3)(a), 159(2)(c); Civil Procedure Rules O.40 rr.1, 2, 4, 8.
Analysis
Although the High Court has unlimited original jurisdiction, where Parliament has created a specialised statutory tribunal with the requisite technical expertise and adequate remedial powers, including injunctions and damages, litigants must exhaust that forum before, or absent, exceptional circumstances justifying direct High Court recourse.
Conclusion
Preliminary objection allowed; the plaint and injunction application were struck out; the plaintiff was directed to pursue its claim before the Industrial Property Tribunal; costs to the defendants.
Ruling available at kenyalaw.org.