Lesotho has a copyright regime under the Copyright Order of 1989. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art 20 lists the exceptions, which include personal and teaching purposes, borrowing expressions of folklore for creating an original work of an author or authors inspired by folklore, among others.

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

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

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

Under Art. 84 of the Public Procurement Act 2023, which replaces the Public Financial Management and Accountability Act of 2011, international competitive tendering must be conducted if: (i) the estimated contract value exceeds a specified threshold outlined in Schedule 2; (ii) effective competition cannot be achieved without inviting foreign firms to participate; or (iii) the required goods or services are exclusively available from a foreign firm. According to the Schedule, the thresholds for Open International Competitive Tenders are as follows: contracts for Goods, Plant, or ICT with an estimated value exceeding LSL 3,000,000 (approx. USD 159,000), and contracts for Works with an estimated value exceeding LSL 50,000,000 (approx. USD 2.65 million).

According to Art. 78.3 of the Public Procurement Act, which repeals the Public Financial Management and accountability Act of 2011, a procuring entity shall grant a 15% margin of preference to a Basotho business in evaluating a tender proposal which exceeds an amount specified in Schedule 2 if they hold a majority shareholding of 51% and above.
Moreover, under Art. 78.4, a procurement unit shall grant a 10% margin of preference in evaluating a tender proposal to the following bodies: (a) a business that can demonstrate a shareholding of between 30% percent and 50% by a Lesotho national; or (b) a tenderer (i) tendering to supply goods of Lesotho origin; (ii) proposing to perform at least 50% of a contract in Lesotho by setting up a necessary business and by using and developing the capacity of Basotho staff in the process; (iii) proposing to sub-contract at least 50% of a contract to a domestic business; (iv) who has the largest use of locally produced goods, material and service; or (v) who employ the largest share of local labour.
In addition, pursuant to Art. 78.5 of the Public Procurement Act, a procurement unit shall grant a 5% margin of preference in evaluating a tender proposal to a business which holds a shareholding of between 10% and 30% by a Lesotho national.
Pursuant to Section 12 of the Public Procurement Regulations, which is still applicable until the publication of the new 2023 Public Procurement Act Regulations, in evaluating proposals, the procurement unit grants a margin of preference for nationals as follows:
- 15% to a local business with a majority shareholding of at least 51%;
- 10% to (a) a business owned between 30% and 50% by Lesotho nationals, (b) a tenderer bidding to supply goods of Lesotho origin, (c) a tenderer performing at least 50% of the contract in Lesotho and using and developing the capacity of Basotho staff, (d) a tenderer subcontracting at least 50% of the contract to one or more Basotho businesses, (e) a tenderer that has the largest use of locally produced goods, materials, and services, or (f) a tenderer employing the largest share of local labour;
- 5% to a business owned between 10% and 30% by Lesotho nationals.

It is reported that Lesotho procurement laws and policies require that entities have to first register as legal entities, apply for trading licenses, and register with the Lesotho Revenue Authority for tax purposes in order to apply for public procurement.

According to Art. 11.3 of the Public Procurement Act, which repeals the Public Financial Management and accountability Act of 2011, joint ventures shall be subject to a preference margin.

According to Art. 78.1 of the Public Procurement Act, which repeals the Public Financial Management and accountability Act of 2011, a work, supply and service tender up to a sum specified in Schedule 2 shall be fully reserved for indigenous Basotho, women, youth and people with disabilities owned SMEs, with a maximum turnover not exceeding an amount specified in Schedule 2. An exemption from the application may apply with a prior approval of the Authority where the Authority is satisfied that there is no 100% indigenous SMEs or disadvantaged groups suitable and qualified for the tender is available. Specifically, for SMEs that are 100% owned by indigenous Basotho, the threshold is set at LSL 2,000,000 (approx. USD 106,000) per tender, with an annual turnover not exceeding LSL 2,000,000 (approx. USD 106,000).

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

The Business Licensing and Registration Regulations of 2020 (BLRR 2020) restrict certain businesses to Basotho, allowing foreign investors to participate only as minority shareholders, with a maximum shareholding of 49%. However, these restrictions are not relevant to digital trade.

Section 11.3(f) of the Companies Act of 2011 requires companies to provide names and addresses of one or more persons resident in Lesotho with authority to act on behalf of the company, while Section 17(b) of the Companies Regulations of 2012 explicitly makes it mandatory for the company to have a company secretary resident in Lesotho.

According to Art. 4 of the Business Licensing and Registration Act 2019 (BLRA 2019), foreign investors are required to provide a capital of 2 Million LSL (approx. 105,000 USD) or provide proof of investment of this amount during registration or renewal of their traders’ licenses or to have deposited USD 123,152 with a local institution.

Although Lesotho does not have a formal screening mechanism, it is reported the government routinely screens foreign direct investment to check if it is consistent with the country's national interests.