It is reported that the Communication Authority of Kenya, the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Kenya has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that Kenya does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation.

According to The National Communication and Information Technology Policy Guidelines 2020 (paragraph 6.2.4), as last amended in April 2021, it is required for telecommunication companies to have at least 30% Kenyan ownership for the Communications Authority to grant it a license. This requirement should be met within three years of being licensed, although it is possible to seek an exemption or extension.

The Kenyan government has stakes in several telecom companies. It ows 35% of Safaricom Limited, 35% of Vodacom, 5% of Vodafone and 30% of Telekom Kenya.

Kenya does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. The protection of trade secrets is mostly by way of common law and equity (and there are a few judicial decisions on this topic). Trade secret protection can be inferred from common law protection of confidentiality. However, regarding whether trade secrets are kept confidential during court proceedings, there is currently no clear judicial precedent on the handling of evidence containing a trade secret while still maintaining its confidentiality. A review of the available case law shows that such matters are determined on a case-by-case basis, and one must demonstrate that the trade secret is indeed useful and applicable in the relevant trade or industry; is not public knowledge or public property; is of economic value to the business seeking to protect it and that the disclosure of such information would be prejudicial to the business.
Moreover, protection is granted locally by virtue of the Constitution (Arts. 2(5) and 2(6)). Some form of protection of trade secrets can also be found in various pieces of legislation, such as those relating to employment and contracts.

It is reported that Kenya does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation.

Kenya has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

Kenya has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

The Copyrights Act provides a regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. According to Art. 26, it is permitted the use of copyrighted works for educational purposes, the incidental inclusion of works in a broadcast or film, the non-for-profit use of works in public, the broadcast of works intended to be used for systematic instructional activities, the use of works by the government, public libraries and non-commercial documentation centers as well as the use of works for judicial purposes, provided the author and the source are indicated.

It is reported that enforcement of IPR continues to pose a challenge to rights holders. It is estimated that piracy and counterfeiting of business software, records, music, and electronics such as mobile phones, costs firms over USD 300 million in lost sales annually. However, several case laws in Kenya highlight the commitments in protection of the IP rights of authors and content creators. The ruling of 2013 in the case "Nonny Gathoni Njenga & anor v. Catherine Masitsa & 2 ors" (Civil Case No. 490 of 2013) is one of several cases where court decisions have affirmed rights of copyright holders against abuse or continued infringement. In addition, it is reported that the rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 74% in 2017 (above the 56% rate of the Middle Eastern and African countries), for an estimated commercial value of USD 99 million.

Kenya is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

According to Art. 34.2 of the Industrial Property Act of 2001, an applicant whose ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside Kenya, is obliged to be represented by an agent who shall be a citizen of Kenya admitted to practice before the Kenya Industrial Property Institute.

The National Information Communication and Technology Policy Guidelines of 2020 (paragraph 6.2.4), last amended in April 2021, make it a requirement for a company to have at least 30% substantive Kenyan ownership in order to be licensed by the Communication Authority to provide ICT services in Kenya. In accordance with Section 2 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, information and communication technologies means technologies employed in collecting, storing, using or sending out information and include those involving the use of computers or any telecommunication system. These include ICT, telecommunication and audiovisual services. This is an increase from the 20% which was required of telecommunications licensees under the law. This change will not affect broadcasters, who are already required to have 30% local ownership by the Communication Authority.

Section 4.3 (Skills and Innovation) of the National ICT Policy Guidelines 2020 establishes that skills transfer to local firms and personnel is a mandatory requirement to win public tenders.