Theme: “Protect your Creativity – Register Your Trademarks and Designs”
The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) in partnership with the Pearl of Africa Fashion Alliance (PAFA) is set to host the Brand Protection Symposium on Thursday, 18th September 2025, at the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre (UBFC), Main Auditorium, Level 2.
This seminal event, under the theme “Protect your Creativity – Register Your Trademarks and Designs,” will convene more than 200 entrepreneurs, fashion designers, SME leaders, and policymakers. The gathering will underscore the critical role of Intellectual Property (IP)—especially trademarks and industrial designs in safeguarding originality, empowering creativity, and scaling businesses in Uganda and beyond.
The symposium will be officially opened by the Guest of Honor, Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho, Registrar General of URSB, whose leadership continues to advance IP awareness and brand protection in Uganda’s innovation and creative sectors.
Participants will engage in key areas including; Training sessions: on trademarks and industrial designs, led by experts, Panel discussions: spotlighting success stories from entrepreneurs and designers who have leveraged IP for growth, A fashion showcase: celebrating Uganda’s most innovative designers, highlighting sustainability, originality, and cultural fusion, An entrepreneurship and fashion exhibition: connecting creators with new opportunities and Awards and recognition: to honor outstanding creative works and IP champions among others.
Speaking to Kampala Sqoop a head of the Symposium, Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho, Registrar General of URSB, noted that, “Our creativity is one of Uganda’s richest resources. But creativity without protection is vulnerable. This symposium is a call to every innovator, designer, and entrepreneur to recognize that your idea is your asset, your brand is your power, and your registration is your shield. Protect it, and it will protect you.”
The Brand Protection Symposium is more than a single-day event; it is a movement to position creativity as capital. By reinforcing the value of registering trademarks and designs, URSB and PAFA seek to nurture a culture where innovation is protected, respected, and monetized, ultimately fueling national development and global competitiveness.
Ronnie Nsubuga Founder and Managing Director of PAFA, remarked, “Fashion is more than fabric, it is identity, heritage, and innovation woven together. Yet without protection, our designers risk losing the very essence of their originality. This symposium stands as a bridge, reminding creatives that protecting their work is not only a legal necessity but a cultural duty to preserve Uganda’s creative soul.”
