Art. 19 of the Constitutional Law on Foreign Productive Investment establishes that in order to be registered, foreign investment must be for a minimum amount, CNY 6,500,000 or its equivalent in another foreign currency (approx. 940,000 USD).

It is reported that patent examination in Venezuela has, in recent years, progressed at an exceptionally slow pace, with backlogs in some cases exceeding 10 years. The average period from filing to grant is understood to be approximately 10 to 12 years. In addition, it is reported that patent applications may not be filed in a foreign language, meaning that all applications must be submitted in Spanish.

Venezuela is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Venezuela maintains a copyright framework under the Law on Copyright; however, its exceptions do not follow either the fair use or fair dealing models, thereby constraining the lawful use of protected works by third parties. Chapter II of Part II (Arts. 43-49) enumerates the statutory exceptions. Among these, Art. 44 provides that certain acts shall be deemed lawful reproductions, including the making of a single copy of a computer programme solely for backup or security purposes, as well as the storage of a computer programme in the internal memory of equipment for the exclusive purpose of use by the lawful user. These acts are permitted without prejudice to any participation of the rights holder where such participation is stipulated in the contract governing the disposal of the data carrier or in the relevant user licence.

It is reported that piracy, including online piracy, together with unauthorised camcording and the widespread use of unlicensed software, remains a persistent challenge.

Venezuela has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

Venezuela has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

Venezuela lacks a comprehensive regime for the protection of trade secrets.

Art. 11 of Decree No. 1399 establishes that the President can mandate temporary changes in the bidding process under exceptional circumstances in accordance with economic development plans that promote national development or provide preferences to domestic goods and suppliers. It is reported that these measures include reserving procurement for nationals, although there is no further information on how this reservation would be implemented.

Venezuela is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Decree No. 356/014 sets some rules regarding the de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties. According to Arts. 3-4 of the Decree, the de minimis threshold for purchases made by non-express mail is USD 50, while for purchases made by express mail, it is USD 200. Moreover, the de minimis applies under certain conditions: only up to 3 purchases per year, for non-commercial purposes, by a natural person of legal age with a valid Uruguayan identity card, and when the gross weight of the items does not exceed 20 kilograms.

In accordance with Art. 9 of the Technical Instructions: Registration of Names under the ".UY" Domain, the applicant for a domain name registration must communicate the registered address of the holder(s) and the address in Uruguay for contractual and extra-contractual purposes of these instructions.

The Consumer Relations and Consumer Defence Law provides a comprehensive consumer protection framework that applies to online transactions. The law covers competition, product and user safety, environmental concerns, and financial regulations.