It is reported that the Communications Services Regulatory Unit (URSEC), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process. In accordance with national legislation (Law 17.296), the URSEC has been established as a decentralized and autonomous public entity.

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

According to Art. 2 of the Investment Promotion and Protection Law 16906, the State of Uruguay establishes equal treatment in the regime of admission and treatment of investments made by foreign and domestic investors.

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

Uruguay has a copyright regime under the Law No. 9.739. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 45 lists the exceptions, which include the publication of works intended for teaching, excerpts, fragments of poetry, and single articles, provided that the author's name is indicated; Publication of works intended for teaching, excerpts, fragments of poetry, and single articles, provided that the author's name is indicated; dissemination of news, reports, and journalistic information as long as their exact version is maintained and their origin is expressed; among others.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Uruguay. It is reported that 37% of broadband households in the country consume online piracy. In addition, an estimated 56% of the population consumes illegal online streaming services, and 18% of households consume illegal pay-TV.

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

Uruguay has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonogram Treaty.

Uruguay has no rules applicable to the protection of trade secrets. It is reported that the Uruguayan legal system does not have a single reference to business or trade secrets, nor does the legal system have a law on unfair competition in which to include its regulation.

It is reported that passive sharing of infrastructure in the telecom market is not mandated, though it is practised in the mobile sector based on commercial agreements. In contrast, in the fixed sector, passive sharing is neither mandated nor practised.

Pursuant to Art. 1 of Law 14,235, the National Telecommunications Administration of Uruguay (ANTEL) is a decentralised public service, and the company is fully state-owned.

Uruguay does not impose a requirement for functional separation on operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecommunications sector. However, since 2003, operators have been subject to an obligation of accounting separation. Art. 15 of the Telecommunications Licensing Regulation specifies that among the responsibilities of licensees concerning service provision is the requirement to maintain separate accounts by service, should the Regulatory Unit for Communications Services (Unidad Reguladora de Servicios de Comunicaciones, or URSEC) issue a general mandate for specific services or categories of licences. In addition, Art. 16 provides that any licensee whose corporate purpose permits activities beyond the provision of telecommunications services must implement a system of account separation and cost accounting for these additional activities, in compliance with the guidelines and criteria periodically determined by URSEC.

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

Art. 58 of the Orderly Text of Accounting and Financial Administration (TOCAF) sets a preferential regime granting an 8% price preference to public works, goods and services produced domestically. Moreover, companies that incorporate in their payrolls people of African descent according to Law No. 19,122 and its regulations, people with disabilities with the conditions required by Law No. 18,651, and trans persons according to Law No. 19,684 and its regulation, may be granted a 4% preference margin in both goods and services, being able to be incorporated to the Single General Bidding Terms and Conditions for Non-Personal Supplies and Services Contracts.
Furthermore, with the purpose of promoting production in the regions of lesser relative economic development of the national territory, a margin of preference of up to 16% may be granted, depending on the department in which the bidding company produces the goods that are the object of the contract. The Executive Branch shall fix the percentage of preference corresponding to each of the departments, taking into consideration the average income of the department in relation to the national average income and verifying the manner in which compliance with the established requirements is maintained.