Namibia does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. Section 195(c) of the Industrial Property Act of 2012 restricts the disclosure, acquisition or use in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices of secret information without the written consent of the person lawfully in control of that information.

Namibia has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

Art. 5 of the Electronic Transactions Act requires accreditation of security services and products including those which are meant to encrypt or decrypt data. This accreditation may involve the technical analysis of the services. The specific requirements for such technical analysis are not listed, however, this can be interpreted to mean submission of source codes and algorithms may be necessary.

Despite laws and institutions dealing with enforcement of intellectual property rights, it is reported that piracy remains prevalent.

Namibia has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

The Copyright Act follows a fair dealing regime for copyright with a fairly wide range of exceptions, which enable the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 15-24 list the exceptions, which include research or private study by, or the personal or private use by, the person using the work; criticism or review of the work or of another work; reporting on a current event in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical; or by means of broadcasting or in a cinematograph file; among others.

Namibia is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Section 211 of the Industrial Property Act of 2012 requires that applicants for parents whose ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside Namibia should be represented by an agent. The agent is either a legal practitioner resident and practising in Namibia in accordance with the Legal Practitioners’Act, 1995 (Act No. 15 of 1995) or a person registered by the Registrar as an agent.

Section 46.2 of the Communications Act requires that the Minister in-charge approves acquisition of a control or ownership of a company in the telecommunications sector.

Section 46.1 of the Communications Act restricts shareholding in the telecommunications sector to a maximum of 49% for foreigners or companies that are not owned and controlled by Namibian citizens.

According to Art. 85 of the Communications Act, the Authority has the discretion to grant a broadcasting license in the specified category, subject to determined conditions and payment of prescribed fees. The broadcasting license can only be issued to a Namibian citizen, or to foreigners if certain criteria are met: the foreign company must have at least 51% of its shares owned by Namibian citizens, it must not be under the control of non-Namibian citizens, and it should have its principal place of business or registered office in Namibia. Additionally, as per Article 85.3, the Minister may also beforehand authorise the issue of a broadcasting licence to a juristic person other than a juristic person referred, however, the law does not mention any further description of the conditions required for this authorization. The provision does not make a distinction for online broadcasting, so it is not clear whether this measure also applies online.

Section 71 of the Procurement Act has provisions where preferential treatment may be granted for Namibian companies over foreign companies in public procurement. This preferential treatment is stated in general to include goods, works or services.

Namibia is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

Namibia is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).