President Mokgweetsi Masisi recently launched the Botswana Intellectual Property Policy in Gaborone. The Botswana Intellectual Property Policy (BIPP 2022) was adopted by Parliament in March 2022.

The primary objective of the Policy is to leverage Botswana’s intellectual property potential for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), the adoptability of this policy seeks to improve the IP governance e-work for promoting the protection of IP rights; to facilitate availability and access to financing for IP generation, acquisition and commercialisation; to promote IP awareness, education and training; to effectively negotiate IP Agreements for the benefit of Botswana; to develop entrepreneurship capacities in selected IP-driven sectors; and to create appropriate institutional structures forSeveral general principles are important for effective management of intellectual property (IP) rights in Botswana. “It is important to have an overall strategy to protect your IP. Second, IP may be protected differently in Botswana than in the United States. Third, rights must be registered and enforced in Botswana under local laws. Protection against unauthorised use in a particular country depends on the national laws of that country. However, most countries do offer copyright protection to foreign works in accordance with international agreements.” The local IP authority in Botswana is the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority, commonly referred to as CIPA, an organisation that works closely with the U.S. government and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).