Malawi Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in malawi, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Protecting Intellectual Property
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Malawi recognizes the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement but faces significant challenges due to limited enforcement capacity. While the government has made strides to modernize its intellectual property framework, gaps in implementation and enforcement remain, posing risks for businesses and innovators.

In April 2025, Malawi’s Parliament passed Bill No. 1 of 2025: Companies, Registrations, and Intellectual Property Centre, establishing the Companies, Registrations, and Intellectual Property Centre (CRIPC). This semi-autonomous government agency replaces the Department of the Registrar General and is tasked with managing company, business, and trust registrations, collateral registry administration, insolvency supervision, and intellectual property rights management. The CRIPC is expected to streamline business formalization, improve intellectual property administration, and enhance the overall business environment.

The bill also amended the Copyright Act, aligning copyright administration with the CRIPC. Under this framework, the CRIPC will serve as the Registrar of Copyright, overseeing copyright administration, while the Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) will continue as a Collective Management Organization responsible for royalty collection and distribution. These changes aim to improve efficiency, clarity, and accessibility for businesses and creators, aligning Malawi’s intellectual property framework with international standards. However, the effectiveness of the CRIPC will depend on its implementation, funding, and operational independence.

Despite these reforms, enforcement of intellectual property rights remains inadequate. While enforcement officials routinely seize counterfeit goods, Malawi lacks a systematic approach to track, report, and analyze such seizures. This creates challenges for businesses seeking to protect their intellectual property, particularly in sectors vulnerable to counterfeiting and piracy. Malawi is a member of several key international intellectual property agreements, including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Berne Convention, and the Universal Copyright Convention. It also adheres to bilateral and multilateral investment guarantee treaties and is a signatory to the convention establishing the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). Notably, Malawi is not listed in USTR’s Special 301 Report or in the Notorious Markets Report and it has no IP snapshot. For additional information about national laws and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at WIPO.

As a Least Developed Country (LDC), Malawi benefits from WTO rules allowing delayed implementation of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) obligations. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is working with COSOMA, the CRIPC, and the Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) to align relevant domestic legislation with TRIPs requirements. 

The Intellectual Property Rights Policy adopted in 2019 serves as a foundation for modernizing Malawi’s legal framework and intellectual property protection regime. However, Implementation of the policy has been slow largely due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.In any foreign market, companies should consider several general principles for effective protection of their intellectual property. For background, see the articles on Protecting Intellectual Property and Stopfakes.gov for more resources. The IP attaché responsible for Malawi is Katherine Hiner and can be contacted at katherine.hiner@trade.gov

For more information, contact ITA’s Office of Standards and Intellectual Property Rights (OSIP) Director, Stevan Mitchell at Stevan.Mitchell@trade.gov

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