As a consultancy firm specializing in legal, governance and corporate services, Akira Consult Ltd is committed to helping businesses of all sizes navigate the complex regulatory landscape and minimize any legal and reputational risk that may distract from the business competing effectively in the ever changing business environment.
In February 2026, the UK Supreme Court rewrote the rules on AI patents. In Emotional Perception AI v Comptroller-General of Patents, it scrapped a 20-year-old legal test (the Aerotel Framework) and ruled that artificial neural networks are, at their core, “programs for a computer” — a non-patentable category UK and European Techpreneurs have long battled with. 🙄
That said, the Court softened the blow by making it easier for AI inventions to move on to the next step of novelty and whether its technical contributions involve an ‘inventive step’. As such, in the UK and across Europe, software still has to fight its way out of a box marked “excluded” before anyone even asks if it’s inventive.
Here is the good news, Kenya doesn’t have that box.
Section 21(3) of our Industrial Property Act lists what can’t be patented: discoveries, business methods, mental acts, mere presentation of information. Computer programs “as such” — the exact phrase causing UK courts headaches — is not on the list. 💡
That’s not a loophole. It’s a structural advantage. It means a Kenyan AI startup solving a real technical problem e.g faster diagnostics, smarter irrigation, more efficient logistics — isn’t starting from a legal disadvantage that European founders are still litigating their way around.
Here’s the catch: untested ground cuts both ways. Kenya has little case law on AI patents specifically, so the advantage is real but unproven. That’s exactly why founders should move now, not later — with claims that names and describes the technical problem, the technical effect, and the specific architecture that delivers it. Indicating that “This is an algorithm that does xyz (insert the midas touch here)” may not be sufficient. Precise description of the technical contribution brought about by merging hardware and software and not the simple automation of business methods shall strengthen your application.
A standard patent in Kenya takes roughly 2–5 years at the Kenya Industrial Property Institute. Your intellectual property protection suite can also include copyright registration (for the software) and trademark registration (for any brand names and logos)
The payoff in protecting your intellectual property isn’t just legal. A granted patent is fundable, licensable, and defensible — exactly what investors and acquirers look for.
Kenyan techpreneurs: the door many other jurisdictions are still prying open is already ajar here. Walk through it. Talk to our legal team Akira Consult Limited today to have a wholesome intellectual property conversation
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