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Last Published: 4/11/2019

Malawi recognizes the importance of intellectual property protection and enforcement but lacks the capacity to do so.  The Registrar General administers the Patent and Trademarks Act of 1948, which protects industrial intellectual property rights in Malawi.  A public registry of patents and patent licenses is kept.  Patents must be registered.  Trademarks are registered publicly following advertisement and a period of no objection.

The government has signed and adheres to bilateral and multilateral investment guarantee treaties and key agreements on intellectual property rights.  Malawi is a member of the convention establishing the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Berne Convention, and the Universal Copyright Convention.  Malawi is not listed in USTR’s Special 301 Report or in the Notorious Markets Report.

Enforcement of intellectual property rights is inadequate.  However, general awareness of the importance of protecting intellectual property in all forms (copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and others) has improved.  The Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA), administers the 1989 Copyright Act which protects copyrights and “neighboring” rights in Malawi.  Led by COSOMA, intellectual property rights enforcement agencies commemorate World IP Day in April.  Although the commemoration has focused primarily on copyrights, it has nonetheless helped to promote awareness of the importance of protection of intellectual property rights.

WTO rules allow Malawi (as a less developed country) to delay full implementation of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement until 2021.  The Ministry of Industry and Trade is working with COSOMA, the Registrar General, and the Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) to align relevant domestic legislation with the WTO TRIPs agreement.  An intellectual property rights policy which would modernize and harmonize related laws and regulations has been drafted, but has not been presented to the Cabinet for approval.  In practice, the policy’s approval is a prerequisite for the government to proceed to make the changes to the legal framework to align with TRIPs and modernize Malawi’s intellectual property protection regime.

While enforcement officials routinely seize counterfeit goods and goods suspected to be counterfeit, Malawi does not have a systematic approach to tracking and reporting on such seizures and no reliable estimates of the number of seizures, type or value of goods seized, or related information are available.

For additional information about treaty obligations and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles.

In any foreign market companies should consider several general principles for effective protection of their intellectual property. For background, please link to our article on Protecting Intellectual Property and www.stopfakes.gov for more resources.

Resources for Rights Holders:
U.S. Embassy
Economic and Commercial Section
40/24 Kenyatta Dr.
Lilongwe, Malawi
+265-1-773-166
LilongweECON@state.gov
A list of local attorneys 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.