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

Under Art. 16 of Decree No. 214-105, competent administrative or judicial authorities can access secret codes of encrypted data upon request to the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency of Cote d'Ivoire (ARTCI) or order decryption of data through the help of ARTCI.

Côte d'Ivoire does not have comprehensive trade secret legislation. Yet, there are provisions addressing disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in the course of industrial or commercial activities by third parties in Art. 6 of Annex VIII of the Bangui Agreement ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Côte d'Ivoire since 2002.

Côte d'Ivoire encourages infrastructure sharing under Art. 35 of the Ordinance No. 2012-293 and makes it compulsory for SMP operators in the market for co-location (Art. 49). It is reported that passive infrastructure sharing is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors.

The State of Côte d'Ivoire holds 5% in the capital of the leader in mobile telephony in Côte d'Ivoire (ORANGE CI).

Côte d'Ivoire does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, Art. 45 of Ordinance 2012-293, relating to telecommunications and information and communication technologies, lays down the principle of accounting separation of operators and powerful suppliers.

Ordinance No. 2012-293 provides for licenses under which a company is allowed to establish, operate networks or provide telecommunications services. Obtaining an individual license is subject to the following conditions: being a legal entity under Ivorian law, having the technical and financial capacity, having an operating plan for the individual license that complies with the criteria established in the specifications, committing to abide by the applicable law, in particular, this Ordinance and its implementing provisions, as well as the specifications appended to the license for which it applies (Art. 9).

The public procurement process is reported to be legally open, but in some cases, it is perceived as opaque in practice, and public contracts are occasionally awarded outside of public tenders. Some foreign companies reportedly win contracts through long-standing relationships with government officials or with the help of partnerships with Ivorian business entities closely linked to the government. During tender negotiations, the Ivorian government imposes local content requirements on foreign companies. In addition, although there are regulations governing sole-source procurement, there have been instances where the government has awarded sole-source tenders without competitive bidding, citing a company's high technical capacity or declaring an emergency. Many companies continue to identify corruption as an obstacle to a transparent understanding of procurement decisions.

Côte d'Ivoire is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2020.

Law No. 2013-546 does not lay down any obligations regarding the maximum share of foreign capital for investment.

Ordinance No. 2012-293 provides for licenses under which a company is allowed to establish, operate networks or provide telecommunications services. Obtaining an individual license is subject to the following conditions: being a legal entity under Ivorian law, having the technical and financial capacity, having an operating plan for the individual license that complies with the criteria established in the specifications, committing to comply with the applicable law, in particular, this Ordinance and its implementing provisions, as well as the specifications appended to the license for which it applies (Art. 9). In practice, however, this requirement does not seem to prevent foreign providers from offering their services across borders.

According to the Bangui Agreement, ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Côte d'Ivoire, applicants resident outside the territory of the Member States must file through an agent selected in one of those Member States (Section III, Art. 8). The professional status of agent accredited to the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) is governed by the Regulations on the profession of Authorised Agent before the OAPI.

Côte d'Ivoire is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Revised Bangui Agreement is a regional intellectual property law that is not only a regional convention applicable in all member states but also serves as a national intellectual property law in Côte d'Ivoire and each of the other member states. The Revised Bangui Agreement contains provisions on copyright in Annex VII: Chapter IV (Limitations to Economic Rights) and establishes a regime of copyright exceptions. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. In addition, Arts. 24-35 of Law No. 2016-555 also provides for limitations and exceptions to copyright.

It is reported that inadequate enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights remains a serious concern in Côte d'Ivoire due to limited resources.