A.25
PART II – Patents
8. (1) An invention shall be patentable if it is new, involves an
inventive step, and is capable of industrial application.
(2) An invention may be or relate to a product or a process.
(3) An invention is considered to be new if it does not form part of
the state of the art.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, the state of the art in relation to an
invention, means anything which has been disclosed to the public,
whether in Botswana or outside Botswana, in a tangible form, orally, by
use or in any other way, prior to the filing or priority date of the
application claiming the invention.
(5) For the purpose of determining the novelty of a claimed invention,
a matter contained in another application filed with the Office and having
an earlier filing or priority date shall form part of the state of the art, if
the application is published under this Act.
(6) Disclosure of information which would otherwise affect the
patentability of an invention claimed in the application shall not affect the
patentability of that invention where the information was disclosed by —
(a) the applicant or his or her predecessor in title; or
(b) a third party that obtained the information directly or indirectly
from the applicant or his or her predecessor in title, if the
disclosure took place —
(i) during the twelve months preceding the filing date; or
(ii) where priority is claimed, during the twelve months
preceding the priority date of the application.
(7) An invention shall be considered as involving an inventive step
if, having regard to the state of the art relevant to the application claiming
the invention as defined in subsection (4), it would not have been obvious
to a person having ordinary skill in the art.
(8) An invention shall be considered as being capable of industrial
application if it can be used in trade, or in any kind of industry including
handicraft, agriculture, fishery and other services.
9. (1) For the purposes of this Act, the following shall not be regarded
as inventions and shall be excluded from patent protection —
(a) a discovery or a plant, animal, micro-organism or substance as
found in nature, including the human body;
(b) a scientific theory or mathematical method;
(c) a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or other aesthetic creation;
(d) a scheme, rule or method for doing business, performing a mental
act or playing a game;
(e) a computer program.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, the following shall not be protected
by patents, even if they are inventions —
Patentable
inventions
Matter
excluded from
patent
protection