The Electronic Transactions Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Chapter 6 of the Act, a service provider enjoys protection from any civil or criminal liabilities concerning third-party material presented in the form of data, to which they merely grant access through information system services for data transmission, routing, or storage within a system under their control. To qualify for this protection, the service provider must adhere to the following conditions: (a) they do not initiate the transmission; (b) they do not select the recipient; (c) they perform functions automatically and technically without data selection; and (d) they refrain from modifying the transmitted data.

Section 17 of General Notice No. 180 requires telecommunications service providers to ensure that customers using a SIM card are registered as the cardholder. For customers who are natural persons, this includes obtaining their name, address, and identification document number. Furthermore, Section 18 stipulates that no SIM card may be distributed or activated unless the customer has been registered as the cardholder.

In Namibia, type approval procedures for telecommunications equipment are regulated by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN). The conformity requirements reportedly align closely with those of the European Union. The homologation process does not mandate local laboratory testing or engagement with local representatives, as Namibia currently lacks ISO 17000-certified laboratories for conducting these tests. Instead, the regulations permit acceptance of test results from accredited laboratories abroad, provided the necessary supporting documentation is submitted to CRAN.
Under Section 8 of the Regulations in respect of Type Approval and Technical Standards for Telecommunications Equipment, CRAN may accept a declaration of conformity from an applicant if it is accompanied by a certified copy of test reports and data issued by an accredited test laboratory, confirming that the telecommunications equipment for which type approval is sought meets the applicable technical standards.

It is reported that the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Namibia has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

Section 46.2 of the Communications Act requires that the Minister in charge approves the acquisition of control or ownership of a company in the telecommunications sector.

Section 211 of the Industrial Property Act of 2012 requires that applicants for parents whose ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside Namibia should be represented by an agent. The agent is either a legal practitioner resident and practising in Namibia in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act, 1995 (Act No. 15 of 1995) or a person registered by the Registrar as an agent.

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

The Copyright Act follows a fair dealing regime for copyright with a fairly wide range of exceptions, which enable the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 15-24 list the exceptions, which include research or private study by, or the personal or private use by, the person using the work; criticism or review of the work or of another work; reporting on a current event in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical; or by means of broadcasting or in a cinematograph film; among others.

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

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

Art. 5 of the Electronic Transactions Act requires accreditation of security services and products, including those which are meant to encrypt or decrypt data. This accreditation may involve the technical analysis of the services. The specific requirements for such technical analysis are not listed. However, this can be interpreted to mean the submission of source codes and algorithms may be necessary.

Namibia does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. Section 195(c) of the Industrial Property Act of 2012 restricts the disclosure, acquisition or use in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices of secret information without the written consent of the person lawfully in control of that information.

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

Section 46 of the Communications Act restricts shareholding in the telecommunications sector to a maximum of 49% for foreigners or companies that are not owned and controlled by Namibian citizens.