The Computer Crime Proclamation No. 958/2016, and the Electronic Transaction Proclamation 1205/2020 establish a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 16 of the Computer Crime Proclamation, intermediaries are shielded from liability unless they are directly involved in disseminating or editing criminal content data, or fail to take necessary measures to remove or disable access to illegal content data upon becoming aware of its existence. Additionally, Art. 23 of the Electronic Transaction Proclamation specifies that intermediaries cannot be held liable for transmitted information provided they do not monitor online communication, initiate transmissions, select receivers, or modify transmitted information.
Furthermore, Art. 24 absolves intermediaries from liability for the temporary storage of electronic records if such storage aims to facilitate efficient transmission of electronic messages to recipients who requested them. Moreover, Art. 25 extends protection to hosting service providers, relieving them of liability for damages resulting from stored information if they are unaware of any harm or take immediate action upon becoming aware of it.

"The Computer Crime Proclamation No. 958/2016, and the Electronic Transaction Proclamation 1205/2020 establish a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Art. 16 of the Computer Crime Proclamation, intermediaries are shielded from liability unless they are directly involved in disseminating or editing criminal content data, or fail to take necessary measures to remove or disable access to illegal content data upon becoming aware of its existence. Additionally, Art. 23 of the Electronic Transaction Proclamation specifies that intermediaries cannot be held liable for transmitted information provided they do not monitor online communication, initiate transmissions, select receivers, or modify transmitted information.
Furthermore, Art. 24 absolves intermediaries from liability for the temporary storage of electronic records if such storage aims to facilitate efficient transmission of electronic messages to recipients who requested them. Moreover, Art. 25 extends protection to hosting service providers, relieving them of liability for damages resulting from stored information if they are unaware of any harm or take immediate action upon becoming aware of it.

Art. 51 of the Communication Services Proclamation orders telecommunications operators to register all SIM cards and to establish a National Subscriber Registry containing subscriber information, as the Authority may request them for different purposes, including national security.
According to Art. 7 of Directive No. 799/2021 on SIM card registration, all new SIM card users must be identified and registered in the official database of their telecommunications provider. Users are required to provide their full name, driver's license or passport, nationality, date of birth, gender, physical address, postal address, a recent photograph, and any available biometric data. Additionally, an identification card of the person procuring the service must be submitted.

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

According to Art. 12.7 of Directive No. ONPS/02/2020, point of sale machine operators are not allowed to send domestic payment information outside Ethiopia for the purpose of authorisation, clearing and settlement. They can only send payment data made through the international card scheme to the financial institution or national switch. Similarly, automated teller machine operators cannot send any transaction outside Ethiopia for the purpose of processing, authorisation and switching (Art. 11.1).

As stipulated under Art. 3(5) and 5(1/f/) of the Investment Regulation No. 474/2020, some investment areas such as postal services (excluding courier services) are reserved for a joint investment with the government of Ethiopia, while foreign investment in audiovisual service including film/music production and distribution is restricted to joint venture scheme with the nationals.

The Investment Proclamation No. 1180/2020 (implemented by Regulation No. 474/2020) prescribes a screening criterion on foreign investments in terms of minimum capital requirements. Art. 9 of the proclamation states that any foreign investor is required to allocate a minimum capital of USD 200,000 for a single investment project, in order to be allowed to invest in the country. If the foreign investor is going to work in a joint venture with a domestic investor, then the minimum capital requirement shall be USD 150,000. If the foreign investor is investing in architectural or engineering works or related technical consultancy services, technical testing and analysis or in publishing works, then the minimum capital requirement can be lowered to USD 50,000. This kind of capital requirement is one of the screening methods that the law uses to prevent small or start-up foreign investors from working in Ethiopia.

The Inventions, Minor Inventions and Industrial Designs Proclamation No. 123/1995 assigns the same protection to local and foreign rights holders, once the foreign patents are re-registered in Ethiopia. However, according to Art. 9.7, an applicant who is not domiciled or who has not established business in Ethiopia shall appoint an agent who is domiciled in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Ethiopia has a copyright regime under the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Protection Proclamation No. 410/2004. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 9-11 list the exceptions, which include reproduction for personal Purposes and reproduction for teaching; among others.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Ethiopia. High levels of software piracy and weak enforcement are reported, which can negatively affect digital commerce. In addition, given the lack of enforcement capacity and coordination among Ethiopian Government agencies, IP enforcement is reported to be inconsistent.
It is also relevant to mention that, according to Art. 3 of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Protection Proclamation No. 410/2004, a certain work published/printed/released or made available to the public outside Ethiopia can only receive legal protection in Ethiopia if it is published or released in the country. Otherwise, foreign right holders are not accorded national treatment as Ethiopia did not sign any international conventions on copyright.

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

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

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

It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Ethiopia to deliver telecom services to end users, and it is not practised in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.