09 Feb 2020

Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Karabo Gare has told Parliament that there were currently 19  patents filed by various companies in the mining Industry.

He said out of the 19 patents, three had been granted protection, and eight were still being examined to determine if they could be protected.

Furthermore, Mr Gare explained to Parliament that his ministry was not able to find out if all the intellectual property rights were implemented in the country since such rights were considered as private property.

Therefore, according to Mr Gare, it was the duty of the property rights owners to verify if such rights were being implemented in the country. The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, through the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority, is mandated to protect intellectual property in Botswana.

This protection is achieved through the industrial property Act (CAP 68:03) and the Copyright Act (CAP 68:02).

The assistant minister was responding to questions raised by Mmadinare Member of Parliament, Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi, who wanted to know how much of the Diamond Industry Intellectual Property was developed in Botswana.

Mr Molebatsi also wanted to know if the Diamond Industry Intellectual Property rights were being implemented in Botswana. ENDS