Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Laos. It is reported that IP enforcement authorities in Laos remain relatively inexperienced.and the country IP Law contains no specific provisions on e-commerce IP infringement.

Laos has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair use, which enable the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Art. 115 of the Law on Intellectual Property Rights lists exceptions that include: the quotation of a publicly available work, provided that it conforms to the principles of fair use and the scope of the quotation is justified for the intended purpose; the use of literary or artistic works to illustrate publications, broadcasts or recordings for educational or scientific research purposes; the translation of literary works into Braille or other characters for visually impaired persons is a permitted use of copyrighted material; among others.

Laos is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

According to Art. 21 of the Law on Intellectual Property, a patent or petty patent shall be refused, in any case, if it is contrary to the culture and fine traditions of the nation, social orders and morale, and security and peace of the Lao PDR. Pursuant to Art. 27, any domestic or foreign individuals, legal entities or organizations may apply for registration of their industrial property with the Ministry of Technology and Science or with an international intellectual property registration organization to which the Lao PDR is a party. However, any individual, legal entity or organization residing in a foreign country wishing to apply for industrial property registration shall have a business premise or an authorized representative in the Lao PDR for be able to apply. The applicant without a business premise or residence in the Lao PDR shall appoint an authorized representative in the Lao PDR to carry out transactions related to intellectual property in the Lao PDR.

The Law on Investment Promotion introduces a national security screening. According to Art. 4 Foreigners may invest in any sector or business except those that the government deems to be detrimental to national security, health, or national traditions, or to harm the natural environment. However, this screening has never been used to block investment in sectors relevant to the digital economy.

The Law on Business Competition Article 39 establishes a general mergers and acquisitions review regime. However, this regime has never been used to block investment in sectors relevant to the digital economy.

Although full foreign ownership is permitted in most cases, many companies find it easier to seek local partners to navigate non-transparent official and unofficial processes.

Until 2020, there were no statutory limits on foreign ownership or control of commercial enterprises for digital-related products and services. However, in practice, many companies have been seeking a local partner to enter the market. In 2021, foreign investment in e-commerce is subject to a limit of 90% of the entity’s shares, and a minimum registered capital of LAK 10 billion (approximately USD 1 million).

Art. 45 of Law No. 30/NA provides that contractors, suppliers or consultants meeting all conditions must be given domestic preference and considered to be awarded the contracts. Clause 14 of Instruction No. 0477/MOF clarifies that domestic preference should apply for international open bidding (international competitive bidding) only and such given domestic preference must be stipulated in the bidding documents though following conditions:
- For works and/or maintenance: if a local bidder’s bid price is not exceed 7.5% of an international bidders bid price, the local bidder must be considered as the winning bidder for works, and/or maintenance.
- Supply of goods: if as a result of a comparison, the lowest evaluated bid is a bid from Group C (bids offering goods manufactured abroad and will be directly imported), all bids from Group C must be further compared with the lowest evaluated bid from Group A (bids offering domestically manufactured goods) after adding to the evaluated price of goods offered in each bid from Group C, for the purpose of this further comparison only, an amount not to exceed 15% of the respective bid price. The lowest evaluated price from the final comparison must be selected for the award.

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

Art. 9 of the Decree of the Prime Minister on Government Procurement of Goods, Construction, Maintenance and Services No. 03/PM stipulates that the use of the national budget for the procurement of foreign goods is not authorized if such goods can be produced locally at equal quality. The regulation also states that local firms are given priority in public procurements of goods, works, and services financed in full with domestic funds. Local firms that are not affiliated with foreign firms and that supply goods, works, and services with equal quality with local firms, are given preferential rights in competitive biddings.

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

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

Kuwait has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.