Botswana's new law in force this week

Afro-IP understands that Botswana has now signed into effect the Regulations regarding  that country's new Industrial Property Act 2010.  Publication of these Regulations is expected later this week and they will be in force from this Saturday, 1 September 2012.

The new Regulations are quite wide-ranging and cover many areas of intellectual property. In particular:

* Pre-grant oppositions may now be made in respect of published patent applications;
* Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications are at last possible (Botswana acceded to the PCT in 2003.
* Utility model applications are now possible.
* Industrial design protection may no longer be obtained for designs that are functional; *
* Collective marks and trade names are now protected, and special recognition is given to the status of well-known trade marks;
* New legal provisions have been introduced with regard to geographical indications, unfair competition, traditional knowledge and handicrafts.

Official fees required for intellectual property registration are being increased by 50% -- presumably because the new law is 50% better than the old, says Afro Leo.

Source: newsletter of NJQ & Associates (Amman, Jordan)