Why Court Has Ordered Willis Raburu To Be Paid Ksh6.5 Million

The company used the trademark after the TV47 presenter registered it on April 13, 2021, under No. 116744.

admin admin
Mar 11, 2024 - 14:54
0
Why Court Has Ordered Willis Raburu To Be Paid Ksh6.5 Million
Image of media personality, Willis Raburu. /WILLIS RABURU

A court sitting in Nairobi has ordered a local telecommunications company to pay media personality Willis Raburu Ksh6.5 million for the use of his trademark 'Bazu'.

Milimani Commercial Chief Magistrate Rawlings Musiega ruled on Monday, March 11 that the telco had indeed used the 'Bazu' trademark to promote one of their internet bundle products.

According to court submissions, the company used the trademark after the TV47 presenter registered it on April 13, 2021, under No. 116744.

The Magistrate thus blocked the telco from using the trademark in publishing any of its material on broadcast media or using anything similar to the trademark.

A person using their phone. /BBC

“A permanent injunction to restrain the Defendant [the telco] from publishing any material in the print and broadcast media in respect of the Plaintiff’s [Willis Raburu] Registered Trademark No. 116744 in respect to the mark ‘BAZU’ and/or any confusing or deceptive mark that directly or substantially is similar to that of the Plaintiff’s,” the ruling read in part.

Magistrate Musiega further ordered the company to pay Ksh5 million in special damages and an additional Ksh1.5 million in general damages. 

However, the telco was granted a 45-day stay of execution. Alternatively, they can file an appeal within the same period.

Raburu took the telco to court on June 24, 2022, for using his trademark ‘Bazu’ in promoting its new bundle plan operating under the same trademarked name, a term that was believed to be trademark infringement.

Through his lawyer Victor Orandi of Mathew and Partners Advocates, Raburu filed the case at the High Court but was on May 9, 2023, transferred to the Magistrates Court.

He argued that the trademark was used yet by registering it he was granted exclusive right to the use 'Bazu' concerning goods or services classified under ‘advertising and telecommunications services as per the International Classification of Goods and Services.

In their defence, the company, however, argued that Raburu was only aiming for quick enrichment and hoped for a silent settlement, adding that the word 'Bazu' was well in use by other parties before the said registration date

"in instances where there exists continuous use of a word or symbol by various third parties prior to registration, the Plaintiff and/or any other person cannot enjoy exclusive rights from the use of such a word or symbol," the telco countered.

The telco further submitted that the term was not created and designed by Raburu since it has been a well-known slang in the local Sheng language.

Bazu is a Sheng phrase mostly referring to an individual, particularly a male who is rich in something such as money, strength and spirituality.

Kenyans who contravene the trademark law and use a trademarked nickname without permission risk being fined Ksh200,000 or sentenced to five years in jail, according to the Trademark Act.

Willis Raburu at TV47 Studios on August 22, 2023. /WILLIS RABURU

Tags: