Togo has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

There is no discrimination in licensing between nationals and foreigners. However, there is the possibility of limiting the number of licenses by decree of the Council of Ministers (Article 5.2 of the Law on Electronic Communications). All individual licenses are issued by order of the minister in charge of the electronic communications sector after authorization by decree of the Council of Ministers. There is also an authorization scheme which prevails for the establishment and operation of independent networks and for the use of radio frequencies (Article 9). It is also reported that there are minimum capital requirements to obtain a license, although the amount is not specified.

It is reported that Togo mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

TogoCom, the incumbent, has been opened to the private sector, but the State still holds 49% of the shares. TogoCom is the de facto monopoly provider of fiber backbone connectivity to ISPs and other content and data providers.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Togo to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

TogoCom was fully owned by the government, but with Decree No. 2019-142/PR the state has opened the capital of the company to the private sector up to 51%. This operation has seen the participation of AGOU Holding (a foreign multinational) up to 51%. There is no systematic limitation by law of foreign capital in the telecommunications sector, but there are SOEs in the sector of telecommunication whose private participation is limited.

Art. 94 of the Electronic Communication Law obliges encryption service providers to comply with lawful interception orders. Refusal to provide secret decryption codes to government agencies is punishable by a fine between USD 3,544 and USD 14,178. However, Art. 628 of Law No. 2015-10 of November 24, 2015 on the New Penal Code refers to the criminal offence against disclosure of information pertaining to a company's business secret.

Togo does not have comprehensive trade secret legislation. Yet, there are provisions addressing disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in the course of industrial or commercial activities by third parties in Art. 6 of Annex VIII of the Bangui Agreement ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Togo since 2002.

Togo has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Togo has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Togo is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Togo has a copyright regime under the law Law no. 91-12. However, the exceptions does not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 20-24 list the exceptions, which include communications such as representation, performance, and broadcasting if they are private, performed exclusively within the family circle and do not give rise to any type of income; if they are performed free of charge for strictly educational or school purposes or during a religious service in premises reserved for that purpose; among others.

According to the Bangui Agreement, ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Togo, applicants resident outside the territory of the member States must file through an agent selected in one of those member States (Section III, Art. 8). The professional status of agent accredited to the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) is governed by the Regulations on the profession of Authorised Agent before the OAPI.

According to Art. 97 of Law No. 2020-001, the news director, editorial director or editor-in-chief of an audiovisual press company must be of Togolese nationality. This restriction was previously contained in Art. 39 of Law No. 98-004 on the Press and Communication Code, which required that the director of a radio or television station must be of Togolese nationality.

TogoCom was fully owned by the government, but with Decree No. 2019-142/PR the state has opened the capital of the company to the private sector up to 51%. This operation has seen the participation of AGOU Holding (a foreign multinational) up to 51%. There is no systematic limitation by law of foreign capital in the telecommunications sector, but there are SOEs in the sector of telecommunication whose private participation is limited.