Practical restrictions on patent enforcement have been recorded in the country, including a lack of transparency, lengthy proceedings, and non-deterrent sanctions. These include:
- Non-infringement opinions: The South African courts have emphasised the importance of obtaining a non-infringement opinion before pursuing patent litigation. Failure to obtain such an opinion may result in an award of costs against the patent owner.
- Limitations on the rights conferred by a patent: Under South African law, the rights conferred by a patent are limited by certain exceptions, such as fair dealing for research and private study. 
- Requirement for specificity: South African courts require patent owners to be specific about the alleged infringing activities, including identifying the infringing products or processes.
- Invalidity challenges: Patents may be challenged on the grounds of invalidity, such as lack of novelty or inventiveness. This may result in the revocation of the patent.

South Africa is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). However, the country does not consider itself bound by Art. 59 related to disputes.

South Africa 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. Section 12 of the Copyright Act lists the exceptions, which include private reproduction for personal purposes, reproduction and other utilisation for teaching and scientific non-commercial purposes, reproduction, broadcasting, and other communication to the public for informatory purposes, among others.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in South Africa. It has been reported that enforcing copyright online in the country is challenging, particularly in the music, film, and software industries. Online piracy and infringement of copyright laws are prevalent in the country, and many entities, locally and internationally, have expressed concerns about inadequate enforcement mechanisms and legal frameworks. In addition, it is reported that South Africa failed to reach the mandated levels of copyright protection under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), especially regarding the enforcement of online copyright and piracy. Moreover, industry associations such as the Southern African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO) and the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) have also raised concerns about widespread piracy and infringement of copyright laws in the country.

South Africa has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1997, but has not ratified it.

South Africa has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1997, but has not ratified it.

The National Industrial Participation (NIP) programme, approved by Cabinet in September 1996, mandates that suppliers providing goods and services to the government with an import content of USD 10 million or more must engage in domestic economic activities. Specifically, the supplier is required to participate in activities amounting to at least 30% of the import content of the total goods or services purchased under the government contract. These activities should align with key objectives of the NIP, such as increasing production capacity, promoting exports, collaborating on research and development (R&D), and facilitating technology transfer and acquisition. While the NIP programme stems from a Cabinet decision, there is no formal legislation or act of parliament regulating it. Further details can be found in the NIP Revised Guidelines 2013.

South Africa does not have specific legislation governing trade secrets or know-how, though they can be effectively protected under South African common law.

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

Section 2 of the Policy on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Use for the South African Government, published by the Department of Public Service & Administration, mandates that the government prioritise FOSS over proprietary software unless the latter is demonstrably superior. When FOSS and proprietary software offer comparable benefits, FOSS must be chosen for new projects, and any decision to use proprietary software requires justification. Additionally, the policy requires the migration of existing proprietary software to FOSS, where equivalent alternatives exist. Furthermore, all new software developed for or by the government must adhere to open standards, follow FOSS principles, and be licensed under FOSS whenever feasible.

It is reported that foreign firms can only bid through a local agent.

According to List A of the Twelfth Regular Foreign Investment Negative List and Section 5 of the Retail Trade Liberalisation Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 11595, foreign investment in small retail enterprises is restricted to Philippine nationals. Retail trade businesses with capital below USD 500,000 are exclusively reserved for Filipino citizens. In addition, Section 3 of Rule III of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Retail Trade Liberalisation Act explicitly stipulates that this limitation extends to foreign retailers operating solely through online platforms.

The Philippines' de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, has increased from PHP 10 (approx. USD 0.17) to PHP 10,000 (approx. USD 180) since the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (Art. 423) was passed in 2016. This is below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).