Nairobi, Jan. 27 -- A US-based cosmetics products manufacturer has won a trademark dispute after the High Court ruled that its distributor in Kenya fraudulently registered its brand.

The court overturned a 2022 decision by the Assistant Registrar of Trademarks and ordered the immediate cancellation of the "Vitale V" trademark held by James Kihara, trading as Jampur General Agencies.

Stating that distributors cannot claim ownership of brands they are contracted to sell, the court ruled that the mark rightfully belonged to Afam Concept Incorporated, an American company with decades of global use of the "Vitale" brand.

The Assistant Registrar had ruled that Afam Concept Incorporated was not an aggrieved party, that the "Vitale V" trademar...