According to the Bangui Agreement, ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Burkina Faso, applicants resident outside the territory of the Member States must file through an agent selected in one of those Member States (Section III, Art. 8). The professional status of agent accredited to the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) is governed by the Regulations on the Profession of Authorised Agent before the OAPI.

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

Burkina Faso has a copyright regime under the Law No. 048-2019/AN. The exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 22-29 list the exceptions, which include: reproduction for scientific research purposes; reproduction as part of teaching activities; reporting current events; among others.
In addition, the Revised Bangui Agreement, which is a regional intellectual property law that is not only a regional convention applicable in all member states but also serves as a national intellectual property law in Burkina Faso and each of the other member states, contains provisions on copyright in Annex VII: Chapter IV (Limitations to Economic Rights) and establishes a regime of copyright exceptions. Nevertheless, these exceptions similarly do not conform to the fair use or fair dealing models.

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

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

According to Section 29 of the Electronic Payments Services Regulations, licensees for electronic payment systems must adhere to transaction limits set in Schedule 3 of the regulations. Operating limits for account-based payment systems (e-money account, execution of card payment, credit transfers and direct debits) have a monthly aggregate transaction limit within the range of BWP 20,000 (approx. USD 1,750) to BWP 30,000 (approx. USD 2,600) for individual customers and BWP 50,000 (approx. USD 4,350) for SMEs, while for retail agents the monthly aggregate transaction limit is BWP 1,000,000 (approx. USD 87,000).

Botswana does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.

The Consumer Protection Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act provide a comprehensive consumer protection framework that applies to online transactions.

Botswana has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Botswana has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Botswana has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

With the exception of goods originating in Malawi, import permits – issued by the Department of International Trade in the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry – are required for goods entering Botswana directly from outside the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU). Any public or private body whose product satisfies all the requirements of a Botswana product standard can apply to the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) for the product to be certified. Samples of the product are then tested to verify its conformance to the requirements of the product standard, and if the results are acceptable, the product can then obtain the BOBS certification mark.
Regulations 3 and 6 of the Standards (Import Inspection) Regulations of 2008 provide that a compliance certificate should be obtained for all commodities or goods to be imported into Botswana. The imported commodities should either comply with the Bureau standards or international or foreign standards recognised by the Bureau for the compliance certificate to be issued.

According to Art. 5 of the Type Approval Guidelines, type approval applies to anyone who imports, manufactures, uses, or supplies telecommunication or broadcasting equipment for use or sale in Botswana. The person who wants to use or sell this product must register the equipment with Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), prior to importing, unless the equipment concerned has already been registered in BROCA’s Type Approval Database. According to Art. 6, for registration, the application must be accompanied by a declaration of conformity (DoC) and a full set of test reports confirming compliance with declared conformity. In addition, according to Section 6.5, it is not necessary to submit any other documentation or a sample of the equipment unless requested to do so by BOCRA. As specified in Art. 10, test results must be obtained from a labouratory that has been accredited by a body that is a member of the International labouratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement. Test results should be included with the application unless BOCRA specifically states in writing that test results are not required. The equipment must be tested for compliance with BROCA’s technical specifications (or equivalent) and should cover areas of safety, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and technical standards. Reference to such compliance must be included in the declaration of conformity submitted with the application.