A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Sudan's law and jurisprudence.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Sudan's law and jurisprudence.

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

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

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

The Infrastructure Sharing Regulation for the Year 2020 governs both passive (non-active) and active infrastructure sharing in Sudan. According to Arts. 3-9 owner-operators are required to make their infrastructure available for sharing, prepare a reference offer approved by the regulator, act in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, negotiate with access seekers, and publish and periodically update information on sharable infrastructure. Annex 1 specifies that passive infrastructure includes, inter alia, towers and masts, ducts, trenches, cable stations and sites, cables, cabins, buildings, roofs, shelters and related utilities, while active infrastructure covers antennas and antenna systems, base stations (e.g. BTS/NodeB), radio network controllers (e.g. RNC/BSC), radio access networks (including feeder cables), backbone and transmission networks, backhaul links, local loops and bitstream access.

According to Art. 18 of the Investment (Encouragement) Act, foreign investment is restricted in certain sectors as designated by the Minister. It is reported that such restrictions include a prohibition on foreign capital participation in most areas of telecommunications services.
Art. 3 of the Regulations for the Provision of Virtual Network Operator Services for the Year 2016, also requires that anyone wishing to provide virtual network operator (VNO) services must apply for a licence in accordance with the Telecommunications Law of 2001 and the regulations issued pursuant thereto (Art. 3.1), and that the licensee must be a Sudanese company with a Sudanese capital share of not less than 60% (Art. 3.2). The Regulations define a Virtual Network Operator as a public mobile communications service provider that does not have a dedicated frequency spectrum and does not own a public communications network infrastructure, but may own limited infrastructure.

It is reported that the government holds a 30% ownership stake in Sudatel, one of the three main telecommunications and internet service providers in the country.

It is reported that Sudan mandates both functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, the relevant law has not been found.

Sudan has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments. In fact, Sudan is not a member of the WTO.

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

The legal framework of Sudan does not mention the limitation of transferring data to a foreign country. Still, it is reported that de facto, there is a limitation to transferring data abroad for security reasons, especially for the strategic and sensitive sectors, such as telecom and audio-visual.

According to Art. 39.2 of the Companies Act, at least one of the directors on the board of any company must be a resident of Sudan.

Under the Investment (Encouragement) Act, the establishment of an investment project is conditional upon obtaining a licence, and this licence is subject to a minimum capital requirement. Specifically, Art. 22.1 provides that the minimum invested capital for foreign investors shall be determined by regulations, while Art. 22.2 requires foreign investors, before being granted a licence, to deposit earnest money of not less than USD 250,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currency acceptable to the Central Bank of Sudan) via external transfer, with such funds to be spent on implementing the investment project only after the licence has been issued. Art. 23 complements this by setting out the general licensing framework, including the obligation to obtain a licence prior to establishing the project and the possibility of cancelling the licence.

According to Art. 33 of the Companies Act 2015, companies incorporated outside Sudan that wish to conduct business within the country must establish a branch in Sudan. Additionally, companies engaged in projects in Sudan are required to set up a branch specifically for the duration and purpose of the project (Art. 34).