Botswana has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Botswana has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Botswana does not have any regulation on trade secrets. The area is usually left to common law which is usually invoked in the courts. The common way in which trade secrets are protected is through the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and contracts generally.

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

Botswana has a copyright regime under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, 2000. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Section 12 lists the exceptions, which include private reproduction for personal purposes, reproduction for teaching, reprographic reproduction by libraries and archives, reproduction, broadcasting and other communications to the public for information purposes, importation for personal purposes and temporary reproduction, amongst other things. In addition, Section 3 of the Act, lists the types of works that would be protected, including computer programs. Furthermore, Section 36 provides that the provisions of any international treaty with respect to copyright and related rights to which Botswana is a party shall apply. Botswana is a signatory to the TRIPS Agreement, which has incorporated the Berne Convention.

Copyright is not properly enforced online in Benin. The rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was reportedly 80% in 2017 (above the 56% rate of Middle Eastern and African countries), for an estimated commercial value of unlicensed software of USD 22 million

Section 145 of the Companies Act provides that a public company shall have at least two directors and a private company shall have at least one director who shall be ordinarily resident in Botswana. This means irrespective of which type of company is formed, the Companies Act requires that at least one director should be resident in Botswana.

The Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) was established by the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre Act. Part V of the Act sets the functions, powers and duties of the Centre, which screens all proposed investments to ensure that they fall within the set priority investment sectors. The BITC also established the Botswana One Stop Service Centre (BOSSC) for investors in October 2017. Before investors can be assisted at the BOSSC they are screened by the BITC. An investment application is likely to succeed if it demonstrates some of the following:
- Number and quality/level of employment created;
- Potential for skills and technology transfer;
- Potential for export and import substitution;
- Potential to create backward and forward linkages;
- Innovation and creativity;
- Priority sector under the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD).

The Botswana Investment and Trade Centre has developed a clear set of investment thresholds and eligibility criteria for both foreign and domestic investors to qualify for fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. For non-citizens, the minimum level of investment required is USD 500,000, which is higher than for citizens (USD 125,000).

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

The Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) is a telecommunications company which was formerly a government parastatal. Clause 6.2 of the Constitution of the BTCL states that no shares shall be issued to foreigners. Therefore, foreigners cannot own shares in this telecommunications company, which is also the only listed telecommunications company in Botswana.

In accordance with Section 5 of the Public Procurement Asset Disposition Board (PPADB) Act, where an external contractor is preferred, Botswana contractors must participate. In addition, in determining which contractor to award to, the evaluators must use the scale of preference for the award of tenders. As a consequence, in terms of section 73 of the PPADB where there is a joint venture involving a foreign contractor that joint venture would be considered last compared to a joint venture of local contractors.

The Economic Inclusion Act generally advocates for empowerment of local citizens even in issues of procurement. According to Section 21 (c) of the Economic Inclusion Act, thresholds (percentage of local preference) shall be determined from time to time to enable deliberate participation of targeted citizens and targeted citizens owned enterprises in tenders for the procurement of goods and services. In addition, it is reported that foreign investors should be aware that Botswana government procurement requirements contain preference schemes for Botswana citizen-owned businesses and locally based businesses.

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

In terms of Sections 66-76 of the Public Procurement Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) Act, the Minister can determine from time to time which services and goods would be reserved for local contractors. The objective of this preferential treatment is to ensure empowerment of citizen contractors.
The latter position of the PPADB Act is also supported by the Economic Inclusion Act passed by Parliament in July 2021 with the objective to promote effective participation of targeted citizens in the economic growth and development of the economy.