Art. 226 of the Legislative Decree approving the Intellectual Property Code provides that the applicant must appoint a representative in Cabo Verde in the case of patent applications filed by interested parties (natural or legal persons) who are not domiciled or established in Cabo Verde. However, the interested party or the holder of the right, whether natural or legal, domiciled or resident in Cabo Verde, is free to present his applications for industrial property titles in person or to have them presented by a recognised lawyer (Art. 225(1)).

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

Cabo Verde has a copyright regime under Decree-Law No. 1/2009. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 62 lists the exceptions, which include: the purposes of research or private study by the person using the work; the use in a private event that is not for profit and for which entry is not charged; the review or news reporting; the reproduction by photographic or similar processes, when carried out for didactic purposes by public or private libraries or centres; the use in documentation files of general interest or public institutions with a scientific or technological vocation; or the use by educational establishments; the reproduction of works, permanently exposed to the public through images or reports for academic use; the reproduction of an arrangement or translation exclusively for individual and private use; quotations from copyright work and critics; speeches and lectures before the media; performance of hymns, as well as works of a religious character; private reproduction of an arrangement or translation exclusively for an individual; among others.

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

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

According to Art. 17 of Decree No. 100/97, importers of electronic communications equipment must register and obtain validation and authorisation of intent to import from the Telecommunications Regulatory and Control Agency (ARCT).

Type approval procedures in Burundi are regulated by the "Agence de regulation et de controle des telecommuincations". It is reported that the conformity requirements are similar to those of the European Union. The homologation process in X does not require local laboratory testing or contact with local representatives.

According to Arts. 20-21 of Decree No. 100/97, any natural or legal person wishing to operate a value-added service must obtain prior authorisation from the "Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications" (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications). According to the Decree, value-added services include exploiting electronic commerce platforms and operating money transfer and mobile payment platforms. To apply, the following documents must be submitted: a reasoned application, the identification of the applicant, the technical and financial means that it intends to use, and the concessionaire with whom it intends to establish a partnership, if applicable.

Burundi does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties. However, there is an informal reported threshold of USD 100.

According to Art. 18 of Burundi's Commercial Code, foreign merchants residing outside Burundi must have an elected domicile in Burundi and appoint a legal representative who has permanent residence in Burundi.

Burundi does not have a legal framework that applies consumer protection to online transactions. However, the Electronic Transaction Law covering online consumer protection is in draft state.

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

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

Burundi has no comprehensive data protection law. However, Decree No. 100/182 of 30 September 1997, laying down organic provisions on telecommunications, contains data protection provisions and imposes confidentiality obligations on personal information (Art. 23-26).

Arts. 29 and 30 of Law No. 100/97 provide that, for public security reasons and judiciary inquiries, telecom operators must provide the full identity and geo-location of their subscribers in real time whenever asked by the Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications). Failure to identify subscribers attracts a fine of Burundian Francs 5,000,000 (USD 2,000).
In addition, it is reported that Art. 5 of Order No. 540/356 on fighting fraud in the ICT domain gives the "Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications" (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications) the right to direct any operator to provide the detailed identity of any subscriber. Further, Art. 6 empowers the ARCT to provide a voice server where the operator must divert all phone communications of a user where crime is suspected. The operators must provide a secured web application to the regulator. Art. 9 allows the ARCT to request the full identity of an internet subscriber and their IP address and install IP probes on the technical installations of an ISP. Moreover, Art. 10 obliges operators to comply with any request by the ARCT and its technical partner in order to fight fraud in electronic communications. Failure to cooperate attracts a daily fine of five million Burundian Francs (USD 2,000). The legal text is not available online.