An intellectual property license in Botswana has to be renewed every 10 years.
Intellectual Property is the human creations brought into existence for a business purpose. These assets speak on the behalf of an organization, or a brand, and exist in industrial activities, literary works, artistic fields etc. They can be a symbol, logo, etc. that is designed by business organizations and are intangible, holding the value of a company within themselves.
Intellectual Property can be broadly divided into two categories:
Includes patents for inventions, industrial designs, geographical indications, trade secrets.
Includes masterworks of literary, films, music, architectural designs, etc.
As mentioned above, intellectual property represents a business organization, a brand and adds a market value to it. Now, these assets need to be preserved according to the government laws. Every business, whether it’s big or small, needs to protect its creations and hold their right to them. These rights preserve the assets from being used or copied by a company’s competitors.
In order to hold a legal right, and protect other businesses to use the same creation, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) have come into existence. Any country needs to abide by the Intellectual Property Rights for two main reasons:
Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) is a regulatory body under Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) since 2014 in the Republic of Botswana. CIPA has got seven divisions under its umbrella, but the most important ones are:
Botswana adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) system in the year 2004.
The Industrial Property Act of Botswana came into force in 1996, provided the grants of patents, trademarks, industrial designs by the year 1998. At this point, the trademarks and industrial designs were examined in-house, whereas the patents were examined in ARIPO reason being they were quite complex and required advance-technology for examination.
ARIPO stands for African Regional Intellectual Property Organization. It joined hands with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and was concluded by a group of 15 states. The ARIPO agreement came into existence in the year 1978 and is headquartered at Harare, Zimbabwe. It was established with an aim of lifting the socio-economic conditions of its member states.
The process of obtaining a patent in Botswana involves a series of steps:
The essential documents required to be submitted during the application process are:
The fee structure for availing intellectual property in Botswana is as below:
Description |
The Fee in Pula (for small companies) |
The Fee in Pula (for large companies) |
Application Fees |
120 |
240 |
Registration Fees |
90 |
180 |
Application for utility model certificate |
90 |
180 |
Preparation of abstract by a registrar |
20 |
40 |
Grant and Publication fee |
150 |
300 |
Description |
The fee in Pula (for small companies) |
The fee in Pula (for large companies) |
A registration fee of one design |
40 |
80 |
The registration fee for additional design |
20 |
40 |
Registration and publication fee |
75 |
150 |
1st renewal fee |
80 |
160 |
2nd renewal fee |
90 |
180 |
Description |
The fee in Pula (for small companies) |
The fee in Pula (for large companies) |
Registration in the black and white mark |
150 |
300 |
Registration in the colored mark |
180 |
360 |
Application Fee |
90 |
180 |
Statement of Grounds |
120 |
240 |
Registration Fee |
180 |
360 |
A renewal fee in one class |
120 |
240 |
Description |
The fee in Pula (for small companies) |
The fee in Pula (for large companies) |
Application fee |
120 |
240 |
Amendment of the application on request of an applicant |
30 |
60 |
Intellectual Properties held by any company acts as an intangible asset. Let’s have a look at the benefits that can be derived by holding these assets and availing services for them:
Business Setup Worldwide is a business consultant, an expert in helping clients in setting up their business worldwide. BSW understands the core processes and proceedings that are required to avail the IP Services. Few of the services that we present include:
Business Setup Worldwide is a platform that allows businesses to grow in foreign lands and expand gradually. Our business experts come with an ample amount of professional exposure and they take care of the essentials and builds a framework for your business. Apart from dealing with the intellectual property, our business experts also help to sort out the legal proceedings, accounting policies etc. so that you can concentrate on the concrete aspects of your business.