On Monday, a Milimani Commercial Court ordered giant telco Airtel Kenya to pay Cape Media’s Director of Digital Services Willis Raburu at least KSh. 5M plus additional damages of KSh. 1.5M for unlawfully using his ‘Bazu’ trademark.
Through his lawyer Victor Orandi, Willis filed the suit on 24 June 2022, accusing the telco of using his trademarked word in promoting its new bundles plan, ‘Bazu Bundle’.
The order also permanently bars Airtel Kenya, its directors, officers, employees and agents from using Raburu’s aforementioned trademark. The telco has been granted 45 days to comply, a period within which they can also file an appeal challenging the decision.
Well, the order has elicited fierce debate on social media, while some fully support the Monday ruling, others are mocking Willis for ‘selfishness’. Those in support of the decision praise the court for finding fault in corporates unlawfully using patented content from digital creators for commercial use and or profit.
Those against it, are mocking the media personality for lifting the word from Gengetone group Ethic’s music video ‘Daktari (Bazu Big Man Bazu)’ and commercializing it for his own personal gain. The song neither features Willis nor makes a reference to him as the ‘Bazu’ on the 3-minute track released in 2020.
Airtel is yet to publicly comment on the matter, which they are likely to challenge.
