The DRC has a copyright regime under the Ordinance-Law No. 86-033 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 24-32 list the exceptions, which include reproduce quotations or excerpts of protected works for cultural, scientific, teaching, critical or polemic purposes, provided that the source, title and name of the author are mentioned; the reproduction of photographs in anthologies intended for teaching use and in scientific works shall be authorized; among others.

Despite DRC Law No. 86-033 on the protection of authors' rights, provides the basis for protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in DRC. It is reported that the law has been sporadically and inconsistently enforced, and in turnt IPR is for all intents and purposes unprotected. The enforcement of IPR regulations is limited despite the fact that the country is a signatory to a number of relevant agreements with international organisations such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and is subject to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The enforcement is reportedly lax due to low capacity and unawareness among consumers and businesses.

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

According to Art. 18 of Law No. 82-001 on Industrial Property, non-Congolese patent applicants domiciled abroad are obliged to indicate an address for service with a Congolese agent and to work through them.

It is reported that enforcement of patent regulations is virtually non-existent.

It is reported that in practice the DRC requires foreign investors to hire local agents and participate in a joint venture with the government or local partners.

The 2010 Public Procurement Law provides that a public administration can limit their participation through domestic preference granted to national and regional companies. Art. 37 (Section 5) considers nationality, residency, regional presence and cooperation partners as criteria to provide a preference which would consist in a reduction in the tenderer's financial offer. Art. 86 of Decree No. 10/22 laying down guidelines for the application of the Law related to Public Procurement requires tender offers to explicitly mention "national preference" when publishing tenders that apply this requirement.

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

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

Congo has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Congo has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

Congo has signed and ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Congo does not have a legal framework that applies consumer protection to online transactions.

Congo does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.