Zimbabwe has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Section 11 of the Interception of Communications Act allows security and law enforcement agencies to impose disclosure requirements in respect of encrypted information where they believe that a key to encrypted information is in the possession of that person, and that a disclosure requirement is necessary in the interests of national security, to prevent or detect a serious criminal offence, or in the interests of the country’s economic well being. Failure to comply with is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Zimbabwe has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Zimbabwe has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Part III of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act lists the exceptions, which include the use with purposes of research or private study; educational use of copyright material; criticism, review, or news reporting; among others.

It is reported that copyright is not adequately enforced online in Zimbabwe. The rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 89% in 2017 (above the 56% rate of the Middle Eastern and African countries), for an estimated commercial value of USD 7 million.

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

Zimbabwe screens FDI through the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) in liaison with relevant line ministries to confirm compliance with the country’s laws. Section 3 of Act No. 10/2019 establishes the ZIDA as a legal person. The government created the ZIDA to oversee the licensing and implementation of investment projects in the country. Part V of Act No. 10/2019 provides for investors to obtain investment licences. ZIDA has established a one-stop investment services center (OSISC, section 5 of the Act) which houses several agencies that play a role in the licensing, establishment, and implementation of investment projects.

According to Section 36 of the Postal and Telecommunications Act, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority issues telecommunications licenses only to legal entities in which Zimbabwean citizens hold a "controlling interest", directly or indirectly. However, a license may be issued to a legal entity without such a majority shareholding, provided that within a time period set out in the license, one or more such persons acquires a majority shareholding. As established in the same article, a "controlling interest" in a legal entity means that any of the following conditions are met: holding a majority of the shares of the entity; the shares represent more than 50% of the share capital of the entity; the shares are worth more than 50% of the share capital of the entity; or the shares give their holders a majority or a preponderance of votes in the affairs of the entity.

Zimbabwe is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

According to Art. 1.3 of the Broadcasting Services Act, broadcasting licenses including on ICT platforms can only be issued to entities that are majority-owned or controlled by Zimbabweans. Broadcasting is broadly defined to include webcasting, videocasting, and streaming services. In this regard, local registration and licensing is required.

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (General) Regulations 2018 (Section 8.2) provides for a margin of preference of up to 15% of the procurement goods and 7.5% of service contracts to domestic suppliers or manufacturers.

Section 9 of the Zimbabwe National Policy for ICT seeks to promote and provide an incentive for local content and application development by ensuring that a minimum of 30% of the ICT software and applications used by Government institutions is developed locally, in all the national languages.

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

Zambia has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.