According to Art. 31.f of Law No. 8968, transferring personal information of Costa Ricans or resident foreigners in the country to databases located in third countries without the consent of its owners is considered a serious offence. Therefore, although there is no outright prohibition of transfer without the consent of the data subject, in practice there is a conditional regime.

In general, there are no restrictions based on nationality for directors and managers of telecommunications companies. However, in the case of the Costa Rican Institute for Electricity (ICE), a major public company providing electricity and telecommunications services, all directors must be Costa Rican nationals. This requirement is in Art. 10 of the Law of Creation of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, which states that the superior administration of the ICE shall correspond to a Board of Directors and that all of them must be Costa Ricans characterised by their honorability.

According to Art. 34 of Law No. 6.867 on Patents, Industrial Designs and Utility Models, it is mandatory to appoint a local representative to file a patent application if the applicant has a domicile or headquarters outside of Costa Rica.

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

Costa Rica has a copyright regime under Law No. 6.683. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 67-76 list the exceptions, which include the reproduction of news that have the character of mere press information, speeches made in deliberative assemblies or public meetings, and works for educational or scientific purposes, among others.

Costa Rica is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Art. 23 of the General Law on Public Procurement stipulates that public procurement procedures shall promote the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives. For the purpose of advancing regional development, the contracting authority shall allocate, within the bid evaluation framework, up to 10% of the overall score to SMEs and cooperatives located in the designated development region and which predominantly employ individuals from that region.
Art. 14 of the Special Regulation for the Promotion of SMEs in the Procurement of Goods and Services by the Administration further establishes that, in administrative procurement procedures in which bidders of goods or services offer conditions that are equal or comparable in terms of quality, supply capacity, and price, the mechanism for resolving a tie in the award decision shall consist of giving preference to nationally‑producing SMEs.

Art. 12 of Law No. 7017-A stipulates that in any government procurement operation, preference must be given to domestic products when the quality is equivalent, supplies are adequate, and the price is equal to or lower than that of the imported product. Further details regarding this article can be found in Regulation No. 32448.

It is reported that public procurement processes occasionally lack transparency.

Costa Rica is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA); however, it has held observer status since June 2015 and submitted an application for accession in September 2023.

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which operates in the telecom sector, is a fully state-owned enterprise, and the acquisition of shares needs to be approved through special laws. Moreover, according to Art. 15 of Law No. 7.789, foreign participation in public or private telecommunication companies entering into joint ventures with the state-owned Heredia Public Services Company (ESPH) is limited to a maximum of 49% of the capital stock.

The Electronic Transactions Act provides a comprehensive consumer protection framework that also applies to online transactions. Arts. 55-57 of the law establish the minimum information a consumer has to obtain from the provider, which includes the legal name of the provider, means of contact, accurate and accessible information about the good or service, terms and conditions of the payment, a copy of the contract and any details about conditions and policies related to, privacy, withdrawal, termination, return, exchange, cancellation, refunds and electronic authentication. If the above is not provided, the consumer has 30 calendar days to rescind the contract, provided they have not received a material benefit.

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