The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a comprehensive framework for data protection that applies to all EU Member States. The Personal Data Processing Act transposes the GDPR.

Under the EU 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.
In the Czech Republic, Sections 97.3 and 97.4 of the Electronic Communications Acts provide data retention requirements. It requires electronic communications services to keep 'data packets' (including information on each telephone connection, text message, internet connection or email correspondence) of all clients for a period of six months.
The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, in March 2011, judged Sections 97.3 and 97.4 of the Electronic Communications Act to be unconstitutional. However, the data retention regime has remained in place in spite of the Constitutional Court’s reservation. Moreover, in its judgment of 2019, the Constitutional Court concluded that, in fact, a period of six months is not a manifestly disproportionate period and validated the Czech legislation.

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 Act on Some Services of Information implements the e-Commerce Directive into Czech law incorporating mere conduit (§ 3), caching (§ 4) and hosting safe harbours (§ 5), and prohibition of general monitoring obligation (§ 6).

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 Act on Some Services of Information implements the e-Commerce Directive into Czech law incorporating mere conduit (§ 3), caching (§ 4) and hosting safe harbours (§ 5), and prohibition of general monitoring obligation (§ 6).

It is reported that foreign persons or entities may conduct business activity under the same conditions as Czechs.  Foreign entities have to register their permanent branches in the Czech Commercial Register, and there are no limits on foreign ownership.

The Foreign Investment Screening Act targets foreign investors whose ultimate beneficial owner is from non-EU countries and who acquire at least 10% of voting rights or substantial control over a Czech company in a sector vital to the security, public, or internal order of the Czech Republic (Art. 5). According to Art. 8, foreign investments in sectors involving selected dual-use goods or critical infrastructure, including critical information infrastructure, that could endanger national security or public order, require mandatory authorisation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) before the investment is completed. The screening process lasts 90 days, and if a national security risk is identified, the Czech government has an additional 45 days to decide whether to approve, conditionally approve, or prohibit the transaction (Art. 13).

The Czech Republic is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Czech Copyright Act has no general fair use/fair dealing but provides an exhaustive list of exceptions and limitations of copyright, which, in certain specific cases, allow the general public to use works without the author’s consent. 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.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in the Czech Republic. While business software piracy rates are decreasing, the entertainment software industry reports that piracy for its products remains problematic, with delays in criminal enforcement proceedings. Moreover, illegal downloading of video content has been on the rise, exacerbating concerns about online copyright violations and further straining the country’s enforcement mechanisms.

The Czech Republic and the European Union have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. The Czech Republic acceded to the Treaty on 10 October 2001, with its provisions coming into force on 6 March 2002. Subsequently, the European Union ratified the Treaty on 14 December 2009, and it entered into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Czech Republic and the European Union have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The Czech Republic acceded to the Treaty on 10 October 2001, with its provisions coming into force on 20 May 2002. Subsequently, the European Union ratified the Treaty on 14 December 2009, and it entered into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. The Czech Republic has transposed Directive (EU) 2016/943 by introducing an amendment to the Act on the Enforcement of Industrial Property Rights in December 2018.

It is reported that passive sharing is mandated in the Czech Republic, and it is practised in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements. In addition, Directive 2014/61/EU (Art. 3.2) establishes that Member States shall ensure that, upon written request of an undertaking providing or authorised to provide public communications networks, any network operator must meet all reasonable requests for access to its physical infrastructure under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, with a view to deploying elements of high-speed electronic communications networks. Such written request shall specify the elements of the project for which the access is requested, including a specific time frame.

The Czech Republic does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, accounting separation is required in certain cases.

It is reported that the Czech Telecommunication Office (CTU), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.