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Is Your Brand Actually Protected in Zambia? The Law Just Changed, and Many Businesses Haven’t Caught Up
Intellectual property law Zambia businesses relied on for over sixty years was quietly replaced at the very end of 2025. If you registered a trademark, patent, or design years ago and haven’t thought about it since, that’s worth revisiting, because the rules protecting it just shifted beneath you.
Your intellectual property, your brand, your innovations, and your creative work, is among your most valuable commercial assets. Yet it’s often the asset businesses protect the least carefully, right up until someone else starts using their name, their logo, or their product design.
What Actually Changed
For over sixty years, Zambia’s trademark protection ran on the Trade Marks Act of 1958, a law that never anticipated service industries, digital branding, or international filing systems. That finally changed with the Trade Marks Act No. 11 of 2023, which came fully into force on 31 December 2025 following Statutory Instrument No. 86 of 2025.
This is one of the most significant intellectual property law Zambia has seen in a generation. Here’s what’s new:
Service marks are now registrable. Previously, only marks attached to physical goods could be protected. Banks, hotels, logistics companies, and professional service firms, entire sectors that had no formal trademark protection before, can now register their brand names and logos properly.
Multi-class applications are now possible. A single filing can now cover multiple classes of goods or services, rather than requiring a separate application for each category.
Non-traditional marks are recognised. Sounds, shapes, and other distinctive brand elements beyond words and logos can now potentially qualify for protection.
The Madrid Protocol is finally implemented. Zambia joined the Madrid Agreement back in 2001 but never passed the legislation to make it work. Brand owners can now file a single international application that designates Zambia, rather than filing separately here.
Renewal terms have changed. The old 7-year/14-year renewal cycle has been replaced with a straightforward 10-year term, renewable every 10 years. Existing marks registered before 31 December 2025 remain valid, but every renewal date now needs to be recalculated against the new framework.
Copyright Reform Is Coming Too
Trademarks aren’t the only area in motion. The Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) opened public consultation in January 2026 on a new Copyright and Related Rights Bill, intended to replace the outdated Copyright and Performance Rights Act (Cap 406). The proposed changes cover digital rights, clearer enforcement mechanisms, and updated copyright terms, a clear signal that Zambia’s entire intellectual property law framework is being modernised, not just trademarks.
Where We See Clients Get Tripped Up
Here’s something we see time and again: business owners assume that registering a company name with PACRA automatically protects their brand. It doesn’t. Company registration and trademark registration are two entirely separate processes, and a competitor can lawfully register a similar trademark even if your company name is already on file, unless you’ve registered the mark itself.
The other recurring mistake is delay. Many businesses wait until they notice someone copying their brand before they think about registration. By then, you’re fighting an infringement battle instead of simply owning a registered right from day one. Registration is inexpensive and straightforward compared to the cost of enforcement after the fact.
A Realistic Scenario
Consider a boutique consulting firm that’s operated under a distinctive name for years, built a strong local reputation, but never registered it as a trademark because “everyone already knows us.” A competing firm later adopts a confusingly similar name in the same city. Under the old Act, service marks like this weren’t even registrable, leaving the original firm with no trademark protection to rely on at all. Under the new Trade Marks Act, that gap has finally closed, but only for businesses that actually take the step of registering. The law changing doesn’t protect anyone automatically; using it does.
What This Means for You
If you already hold a registered trademark in Zambia, it remains valid, but you should confirm your registration status with PACRA and recalculate your renewal date under the new 10-year term.
If you run a service business, this is genuinely new ground. You can now register your brand name and logo for the first time, and given how easily service brands get copied locally, it’s worth doing sooner rather than later.
If you’re a creator, publisher, or platform relying on copyright protection, keep an eye on the Copyright and Related Rights Bill as it moves through consultation, since it will likely affect how you register and enforce rights over creative and digital content.
At Mesdames Jane Jere Legal Practitioners, we advise on trademark, patent, industrial design, and copyright registration and protection, IP licensing agreements, and infringement disputes and enforcement, helping clients in Zambia protect the brand and innovation they’ve worked hard to build.
For related reading, see our guides on Corporate and Commercial Law and Company Secretarial Services, or explore our Intellectual Property category for further updates.
This article was prepared by Mesdames Jane Jere Legal Practitioners and reviewed for accuracy against the Trade Marks Act, No. 11 of 2023.
