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Saudin_Mwakaje, intellectual property

Saudin Jacob Mwakaje

Professor

University of Dar es Salaam School of Law

Biography

Prof. Mwakaje is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam School of Law, Tanzania. Currently, he is the Chief Corporate Counsel and Secretary to Council of the University of Dar es Salaam. He is a seasoned researcher and has extensively published in the fields of intellectual property rights (IPR) and investment law. He is also a legal practitioner licensed to practice in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. He is one of the founding partners of NexLaw Advocates, a law firm based in Dar es salaam, Tanzania. He heads the Intellectual Property Department of the firm handling contentions and non-contentious matters for local and international clients. His areas of practice and research are: Intellectual Property Law, Investment and Corporate Transactional Law, and international trade and finance law. He holds PhD (Dar), Master of Laws (LL.M) in Intellectual Property, Commerce and Technology (University of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce Law Center, USA), LL.M (Dar), Bachelor of Laws (LL. B) (Dar). Prof. Mwakaje has advised clients (large corporations and SMEs) on how to integrate intellectual property issues within the broader context of their business so as to maximize their enterprise’s assets portfolio and also maintain their competitive edge in the market.
Prof. Mwakaje is a tutor in WIPO Academy DL courses (has tutored DL 301E, DL205E18S1, DL4001E20S1, and DL303E21S3). He has worked as a consultant and legal advisor in several projects for public and private sector and also for the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), East African Community (EAC), Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), AfCFTA on IP Protocols, and the World Bank.
You can view Prof. Mwakaje’s publications at:
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=2_XtU00AAAAJ&hl=en 

Research Interest

  1. Intellectual property in the context of global economy and sustainable development.
  2. Investment Law and practice
  3. Capital markets and securities
  4. International Trade Law

Contacts

Email:

Projects

  1. Consultant: Technical Review of the Draft Annexes on the Office, Marks, and Industrial Designs of the AfCFTA Intellectual Property Rights Protocol, Client: AfCFTA Secretariat, Held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 28th October to 1st November 2024.
  2. Consultant: Study Report to Support Partner States to EAC on Negotiations on Intellectual Property Rights Protocol under AfCFTA Phase II Negotiations, Client: East African Community and GIZ. Completed in January 2023.
  3. Consultant: Developing Corporate Strategic Plan for Tanzania Investment Centre (2023/24- 2027/28), Engaged by the European Union as a Supporting and Quality Assurance Expert to the main Consultant., December 2023.
  4. Consultant: Need Assessment on Strengthening and Improving the Regulatory Framework for Business environment in Zanzibar, Client: Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and Trademark East Africa, Completed in February 2023
  5. Consultant: A Baseline Survey on the Prevalence and Preference of Counterfeits in Tanzania Market, Client: Fair Competition Commission (FCC)- Tanzania. The survey presents key findings on the important interventions that the FCC may adopt to protect consumers from Counterfeit products. Completed September 2021.
  6. Consultant: Analysis of the Benefits for Tanzania of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Appointed by the Ministry of Trade and Industries, July 2018.
  7. Legal Adviser to Deloitte Touché on: Public Private Partnership Viability Study - Legal and Regulatory Review, World Bank Project, April to September 2017.
  8. Consultant to the Government of Tanzania: Review of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) between Tanzania and other Countries, 2016 and 2017.
  9. Consultant: Review of the Impact of East African Common Market Protocol on Enforcement of Trademarks Rights in East Africa. Client: TCC, June 2011 – September 2011.
     

Publications

A BOOK:
PETER, C. M., and MWAKAJE, S. J., 2004. Investments in Tanzania: Some Comments –Some Issues. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Department of International Law, University of Dar es Salaam.

 

ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS:

  1. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2024. “The Interface between Intellectual Property Rights and Linguistics under the Laws of Tanzania,” 22(1) Kioo cha Lugha, pp. 49-69, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/kcl.v22i1.4
  2. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2024, “Intellectual Property Rights as A Tool for Bridging Gender Gap: Approaches and Prospects Under the African Union,” Oxford Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpae093.
  3. MWAKAJE, S. J and NYANG’ANYI, T. M, 2023. “Reclaiming Sovereignty over Natural Wealth and Resources in Tanzania: Legal and Regulatory Implications on Investments,” 38(2) ICSID Review, Journal of International Investment Law, pp. 359-380, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icsidreview/siac028.
  4. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2023. “The Evolving Investment Regulatory Landscape in Tanzania: A Quest for a New Legal Regime,” 50 The African Review, pp. 236-267, https://brill.com/view/journals/tare/50/2/article-p236_5.xml.
  5. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2022. “Intellectual Property Rights in Tanzania: An Appraisal of the Law and Developmental Issues,” 20(2) Tanzania Journal of Development Studies, pp. 111-135.Link: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/tjds/article/view/240610.
  6. MWAKAJE, S. J., and MKUMBUKWA, N. S., 2022. “The New Arbitration Law in Tanzania: An Appraisal of its Salient Features and Implications on Investment Disputes Settlement,” 39 (1) Kluwer Journal of International Arbitration (JOIA), pp. 129-162, https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2022006.
  7. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2022. “Protection of geographical indications and cross‐border trade: A survey of legal and regulatory frameworks in East Africa,” 25 The Journal of World Intellectual Property, pp. 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.12204 .
  8. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2021. “Accession by Tanzania to the Marrakesh Treaty on Access to Publications for Visually Impaired Persons: Policy and Legal Implications,” 48 The African Review, pp. 215-238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1821889X-12340033.
  9. PETER, C. M., and MWAKAJE, S. J., 2021. “Public Participation and the Adoption of Investment Codes: Observation of the Mixed Practice from Tanzania,” in Eric De Brabandere, Tarcisio Gazzini, and Avidan Kent (Eds). Public Participation and Foreign Investment Law: From the Creation of Rights and Obligations to the Settlement of Disputes, Leiden|Boston, Brill | Nijhoff.
  10. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2020. “Access to Educational Publications and the Copyright Law in Tanzania: Revisiting the Underlying Opposing Interests,” Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences (JEHS), Vol. 9 No. 1.
  11. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2019. “Duality of Investment Regulatory Regimes in Tanzania - An Appraisal of the Legal and Practical Challenges,” Zanzibar Yearbook of Law (ZYBL), Vol. 9.
  12. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2018. “Fair Use under Copyright Law: Theoretical Basis and Enforcement Approaches in Selected East Africa States,” East African Law Review (EALR). Vol. 45 No. 1.
  13. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2007. “Copyright Law in Tanzania: Some of the Issues you Need to Know,” The Tanzania Lawyer, Vol. 1 No. 2.

  14. MWAKAJE, S. J., 2005. “Reconciling Humanitarian Intervention and State Sovereignty: Recalling the Invasion in Uganda by Tanzania,” University of Nairobi Law Journal, Vol. 3 No.1.

     

    THESIS AND DISSERTATION: 

    MWAKAJE, S. J., 2012. “Regulatory Frameworks of Intellectual Property Products: The Case of University Research and Patents Law in Tanzania,” PhD Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.