Nicaragua has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

According to Art. 14 of the Personal Data Protection Law, the assignment and transfer of personal data of any kind to countries or international organizations that do not provide adequate levels of security and protection is prohibited. Art. 14 further states that the transfer to foreign countries is allowed in certain circumstance, including international judicial collaboration, exchange of personal data in health matters, bank or stock transfers, agreed transfer within international treaties, or international cooperation between intelligence agencies, regarding crimes regulated in Law No. 735 for the prosecution of organized crime.

There is no executive authority in Nicaragua for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector that is completely independent of the government in the decision-making process. Art. 1 of Decree-Law No. 1053 - Organic Law of the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services (Decreto Ley No. 1053 - Ley Orgánica del Instituto Nicaragüense de Telecomunicaciones y Correos) establishes the "Instituto Nicaragüense de Telecomunicaciones y Correos" (TELCOR, Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services) as the main regulatory body for telecommunications providers. The Institute is meant to operate as a decentralized entity with independent assets. However, it is reported that TELCOR fails to uphold principles of neutrality and independence as it is essentially a government institution, and it responds to government policies. In this regard, the highest authority of the Institute is appointed by the president and, although according to the Political Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua (Art. 138, Para. 30) all such appointments must be reviewed and approved by the National Assembly, it is reported that this has never happened in practice.

Nicaragua has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that Nicaragua does not mandate functional or accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

There is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Nicaragua to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is reported that passive infrastructure sharing is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

Art. 29 of Law No. 200 establishes that media licences are only granted to Nicaraguan natural or legal persons, or to joint stock companies with at least 51% participation of Nicaraguan nationals. Prior to amendment 326 to Art. 29, this restriction applied to all licences for the provision of telecommunications services.

It is reported that, starting in 2019, Nicaragua’s Customs Authority (DGA) began systematically seeking proof of country of origin of products that had previously been established to originate in the United States, including through a comprehensive questionnaire to importers seeking detailed information about the products. Multiple businesses have reported that the requested information includes proprietary business data or trade secrets. Businesses have sought to make arrangements with the DGA to establish proof of origin without publishing trade secrets in questionnaires, such as, through site visits to production plants and staff interviews. However, it is reported that the DGA has rejected those proposals and in multiple cases has initiated administrative processes to remove preferential treatment and also seek retroactive tariffs for the time that the product was imported with preferential treatment.

Law No. 354 provides a framework for effective protection of trade secrets. The Chapter XVIII of the Law consists of the regulation of unfair competition, which involves the definition and protection of trade secrets.

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

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Nicaragua. There are concerns about optical disc and broadcast media piracy in Nicaragua as well as about inadequate IP enforcement. In addition, it is reported that the rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 81% in 2017 (above the 52% rate of the Latin American countries) for an estimated commercial value of USD 20 million.

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

Nicaragua has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Law No. 312 provides the basic concepts as well as the limitations and exceptions to copyright, expressed in Arts. 31 to 43, which also include a reference to fair dealing. The Law regulates copyright in literary, handicraft, artistic or scientific works, regardless of their nature, merit, or present or future form, and the related rights of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations. It also protects computer programmes in both source code and object code and whatever their mode or form of their expression.

Nicaragua is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The government can limit foreign ownership for national security under the Foreign Investment Promotion Law. Art. 3 provides that foreign investors shall enjoy the same rights and the means to exercise them as the laws grant to Nicaraguan investors. However, cases related to national security and public health are exempted from the above provision.