The Data Protection Act (DPA) was drafted in 2011 and partially entered into force in 2012. The Articles in force are: Part I: Sections 1 to 6, Part II: Sections 7 to 18, 22, 23, 25(1), 26 and 28 (certain powers and duties of the Office of the Information Commissioner ('the Commissioner'); and Part III, Section 42(a) and (b).
Research indicates that no timetable has been set for enacting the remainder of the DPA, and it is possible that there may be changes to the remainder of the legislation before it is fully proclaimed. In its current form, it regulates data privacy across all sectors, including rules to obtain information and regulation for disclosure of information to parties in different jurisdiction to that of Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, it lists the 12 General Privacy Principles, applicable to all those who handle, store and process data belonging to others.

According to Art. 36 of the Data Protection Act, public entities must ensure or take steps to ensure that personal information in their custody or under their control is stored only in Trinidad and Tobago and accessed only in Trinidad and Tobago unless:
- The individual authorises their data to be exported;
- The information is stored in or accessed from another jurisdiction that has comparable safeguards as provided by the Data Protection Act. To this effect, the Office of the Information Commissioner is to publish a list of acceptable countries to transfer data to, which has not yet been published as Art. 36 is not yet in force and therefore is not binding as of this moment.

Trinidad and Tobago has not taken any binding commitments on open transfers of cross-border data flow. The only agreement in place regarding data flows across borders is the 2008 "Economic partnership agreement (EPA) between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part", a free trade and development agreement between the EU and the CARIFORUM states, including Trinidad and Tobago. Pursuant the Art. 107, the Parties agree to permit a financial service supplier of the other party to transfer information in and out of their territory, if the processing of data is required for the ordinary course of business. Moreover, in Art. 199, the Parties agree that the legal and regulatory regimes and administrative capacity to be established shall, at a minimum, include the content principle of restrictions on onward transfers, which means that data can only be transferred when the recipient is also subject to rules affording an adequate level of protection.

The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (established in July 2004 by an amendment to the Telecommunications Act 2001) is the executive authority in the country for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector. This authority is reported to be completely independent of the government in the decision-making process.

Trinidad and Tobago has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Trinidad and Tobago mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. The Accounting Separation Guidelines for the Telecommunications Sector from February 2012 dictate the preparation of separate accounts for each of the different businesses operated by the same concessionaire, by identifying and allocating the costs and revenues associated with each business as well as the dealings between them. It sets the guiding principles for this process, which concessionaires must implement. Dominance can be reviewed at any time when deemed necessary or upon the request of an operator. These guidelines are emitted as per Section 24.1 of the Telecommunications Act 2001. Additionally, it is reported that functional separation has also required by law, although the law has not been identified.

The Foreign Investment Act requires that foreigners must have a license to own more than 30% of a public company, as mandated in Art. 5. This applies to all sectors, including any public companies that operate in the telecommunications sector.
In addition, it is reported that there are other restrictions for obtaining a license. These include, among others, minimum capital requirements to obtain a license.

The Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT) is jointly owned by National Enterprises Limited (NEL), which in turn is majority owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, and Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Limited, (C&W). NEL owns 51% of TSTT's issued share capital. TSTT provides the following telecommunications services: mobile telephone, data (domestic and international), voice (domestic and international), internet access and cable TV broadcast.

Trinidad and Tobago does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. Art. 9 of the Protection Against Unfair Competition Act determines that any act or practice, in the course of industrial or commercial activities, that results in the disclosure, acquisition or use by others of secret information without the consent of the person lawfully in control of that information and in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices shall constitute an act of unfair competition. In addition, Art. 9 defines "secret information" as well as setting out what its disclosure may result from, such as industrial or commercial espionage or breach of contract.

There is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Trinidad and Tobago to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements. Passive sharing of telecom infrastructure is mandated under Art. 26 (1) of the Telecommunications Act of 2001, which was amended in 2004 to include this provision. The document titled Telecommunications (Access to Facilities) Regulations details the regulations for licensees of telecommunications services to negotiate in good faith in order to share use of their facilities.

Trinidad and Tobago has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

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

Trinidad and Tobago 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. According to Art. 10 and 11, the act protects works for the sole fact of their creation and irrespective of their mode or form of expression, as well as of their content, quality and purpose. The law establishes and regulates a series of exceptions for the use of copyrighted work, in which protected works may be used without the authorization of the owner of the copyright, and without payment of compensation. These are as follows:
- Private reproduction for personal purposes, as per Art. 9;
- Reproduction for teaching, as per Art. 11;
- Reproduction by libraries and archives, as per Art. 12;
- Reproduction, broadcasting and other communication to the public for information purposes, as per Art. 13;
- Reproduction and adaptation of computer programs, as per Art. 14.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in the Trinidad and Tobago. It is reported that there are concerns about Trinidad and Tobago piracy for optical disc music and video, non-payment of copyright royalties, and online piracy. It is also reported that copyright owners face serious challenges in protecting their copyright. While members of the industry believe there are sufficient laws to prevent piracy and copyright infringement, there is an unwillingness of local creators to engage in convoluted legal battles and due to the non-recognition of the value of their intellectual property. Moreover, it is reported that the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) has not taken any enforcement action against broadcasters, particularly the state-owned telecommunications networks, which broadcast unlicensed content.

Trinidad and Tobago is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).