According to Arts. 3-7 of Decree No. 6832/2017, a prior import licence is required for the importation of mobile telephone devices, including mobile phones (other than satellite phones), laptops, parts and accessories for mobile phones, and mobile phone motherboards.

Art. 19 of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data establishes Paraguay’s rules on international transfers of personal data, permitting transfers (including onward transfers) only if the destination country, territory, sector or international organisation provides an adequate level of protection as determined by the National Data Protection Agency. Alternatively, transfers are permitted when controllers and processors implement appropriate safeguards, such as contractual clauses, binding corporate rules, codes of conduct or certification mechanisms, in accordance with the regulations to be adopted under the law. It also provides derogations, including transfers grounded in international treaties, judicial or intelligence cooperation to combat serious crime, contractual necessity (including authentication, service improvement, support, maintenance and billing), banking or securities transfers, health-related purposes, epidemiological studies with adequate anonymisation, and the data subject’s prior explicit consent. Although the Agency has been established, it is not yet operational, and no regulations have yet been issued.

Paraguay has joined agreements with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders. According to the Art. 7.2 of the Mercosur Agreement on E-Commerce signed by Paraguay, each Party shall permit the cross-border transfer of information when the purpose of such transfer is to realise the commercial activities of a person of a Party. Furthermore, according to the Art. 7.11 of the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Paraguay, each Party shall permit the cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, where such activity is for the conduct of the business of a person of a Party.

Law No. 7593/25 on the Protection of Personal Data in the Republic of Paraguay provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in the country.

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

Paraguay has a copyright regime under the Law No. 1328. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 38-46 list exceptions, including reproduction by reprographic means for teaching or examination purposes in educational institutions and reproduction of a work for judicial or administrative proceedings, provided such reproduction is justified by the intended purpose, among others.

It is reported that online copyright enforcement in Paraguay remains inadequate, with persistent challenges related to effective and consistent prosecutions and judicial actions. Paraguay’s National Directorate of Intellectual Property (DINAPI) has publicly identified audiovisual piracy as a major enforcement and market problem, noting that the illegal retransmission of football matches and other protected audiovisual content is estimated to generate losses of around USD 100 million per year.

Paraguay has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Paraguay has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Paraguay 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. Art. 65 of the Labour Code establishes the employee's obligations to maintain strict confidentiality of technical, commercial and manufacturing secrets of the products in the production of which they are directly or indirectly involved or of which they have knowledge by reason of the work performed, as well as of administrative matters whose disclosure could be detrimental to the company. In addition, the literature indicates that in the absence of special laws for the protection of industrial secrets, Criminal Law has a role since Art. 147 of the Penal Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of "other people's" secrets and industrial or trade secrets.

It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Paraguay to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

It is reported that the telecommunications sector is open to competition, except for fixed lines and international carrier services, which remain under State monopoly with the "Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones". This is despite full foreign ownership being allowed in the telecommunications sector. In December 2001, as part of the process of “Reorganization of decentralized Public Entities, of reform and modernization of Central Administration Organizations”, provided for by Law 1615/2000, the National Telecommunications Administration (ANTELCO) changed its name to Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones Sociedad Anónima (Copaco S. A.), becoming a 100% state-owned company.

Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones (COPACO S.A.) is the leading fixed-line telephony operator in Paraguay and is wholly state-owned. It is reported that, in December 2001, within the framework of the “Reorganisation of Decentralised Public Entities and the Reform and Modernisation of Central Administration Organisations” established by Law No. 1615/2000, the former National Telecommunications Administration (ANTELCO) was converted into Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones Sociedad Anónima (COPACO S.A.), as a 100% state-owned company. COPACO also owns 100% of the mobile service operator HOLA.

Paraguay does not require operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecommunications sector to implement functional separation. However, it is reported that SMP operators are subject to accounting separation obligations.

Law No. 642 regulates the concession, license or authorisation to provide telecommunication services. According to Art. 70 of the Law No. 642 and Art. 67 of the Decree No. 14135, concessions, licences and authorisations are subject to the payment of a concession fee, which must be paid within 60 days of their grant or renewal, on a one-off basis for each period. In order to sign the concession contract, the concessionaire must provide proof of prior payment of the concession fee, whose amount is established in the CONATEL Board Resolution No. 3523/2024 on the Procedure for Determining the Minimum Amount Payable as Licence, Authorisation, Licence Extension and Licence Renewal Fees under the Demand-Driven Regime Moreover, there is an annual fee for the commercial exploitation of the services, which can be up to 1% of the provider’s gross income. It is also reported that there is a minimum capital requirement to obtain a licence.