Since May 2020, the Alternative FDI Regime, outlined in Chapter 85 of Act LVIII of 2020 and its implementing Governmental Decree, has supplemented existing FDI regulations under the FDI Act. Initially set to expire at the end of 2021, the regime was later extended indefinitely and reinstated through a new Governmental Decree in late 2022. According to Section 276 of Act LVIII of 2020, acquisitions of Hungarian companies in strategic sectors, including information technology, by foreign entities require authorisation.
In addition to share acquisitions under the FDI Act, the Alternative FDI Regime covers other deal structures, such as acquiring convertibles, usufruct rights, corporate transformations, asset acquisitions, capital injections, and in-kind contributions. These transactions are included if they result in at least a 10% stake in a strategic company, regardless of whether the deal is paid or free. The industries covered by the Alternative FDI Regime are extensive, encompassing sectors such as manufacturing, chemicals, food and agriculture, health, medical, waste, building materials, transport, logistics, education, communication, and even retail and wholesale, as long as they involve critical infrastructure.

Under Art. 51 of Act XXXIII of 1995 on the protection of inventions, foreign applicants that have no residency within the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA) have to be represented by an authorised attorney-at-law in front of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office.

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

There is no general principle for the use of copyright-protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principles. Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test” in line with the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.
Chapter 4 of the Act LXXVI of 1999 establishes copyright exemptions, including a right of citation, the right of use for educational purposes, private use and news reporting.

It is reported that internet piracy in Hungary is a significant issue. Stakeholders have noted that the Hungarian government should allocate sufficient resources to its law enforcement authorities to effectively combat intellectual property rights violations, particularly those occurring online.

The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by Law 2251/1994 on the Protection of Consumers. The law contains provisions about terms of contract, distance selling, liability, and unfair trade practices, among other things.

Greece has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Greece has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Greece has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

Art. 46 of Law 4002/2011 requires that gambling sites operating in Greece have a ".gr" domain name.

The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a comprehensive framework for data protection that applies to all EU Member States. Greece implemented the GDPR in 2019 through Law No. 4624/2019.

Under the Directive on Data Retention, operators were required to retain certain categories of traffic and location data (excluding the content of those communications) for a period between six months and two years and to make them available, on request, to law enforcement authorities for the purposes of investigating, detecting and prosecuting serious crime and terrorism. On 8 April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Directive invalid. However, not all national laws that implemented the Directive have been overturned. The Greek law implementing the Directive is still in place. Specifically, Article 6 of Law 3917/2011 requires that data be retained for a period of 12 months, and it needs to be retained within the Hellenic territory.

The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbour. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.

The Greek Presidential Decree 131/2003 implements the E-commerce Directive in Greece almost verbatim. The provisions in this Decree are considered to exempt the ISPs from every liability (civil, penal, administrative), even the severe liability of service providers according to Art. 8 of Law 2251/1994 on consumer protection. One considerable exemption to the no-liability rule is the field of data protection.

The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbour. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.

The Greek Presidential Decree 131/2003 implements the E-commerce Directive in Greece almost verbatim. The provisions in this Decree are considered to exempt the ISPs from every liability (civil, penal, administrative), even the severe liability of service providers according to Art. 8 of Law 2251/1994 on consumer protection. One considerable exemption to the no-liability rule is the field of data protection.