According to the Ordinance of the Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology on the procedures for identifying participants (Federal Law Bulletin II No. 7/2019), all mobile value cards in Austria must be registered. It is mandatory to register the following data: first name, last name, academic degree and date of birth. Customers can register in person with their mobile operator, for which an official ID is necessary. It is also possible to register online, which requires the customer to take a photo of themselves and their ID. Holders of an Austrian bank account can also register via said account. Companies must register through an authorised representative who must submit a suitable document from the company register.

The Communication Platforms Act, which went into effect in October 2020, requires online social media platforms with more than 100,000 users in Austria and annual revenue of at least Eur 500 million (approximately USD 560 million) in Austria to establish a complaints department with a streamlined procedure for managing hate speech posts. The law applies to a catalogue of 15 criminal offences, including hate speech, coercion, stalking and the degradation of religious teachings. Platforms must provide a reporting function for this illegal content and react immediately to notifications. If the content is obviously illegal for legal laypersons, it must be blocked within 24 hours after the notification. If the illegality is not that obvious, the platform can take a maximum of 7 days to respond. The law allows individuals to sue in court to compel platforms to immediately delete content ruled as hate speech. Media platforms and communication forums that are “directly linked to journalistic activity” are exempt from the new law. Online information services, such as Wikipedia and online retail services, are also exempt.

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

There is no general principle for the use of copyright-protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principles. 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. In Austria, the Copyright Law provides for exceptions or limitations to the reproduction right provided in some listed cases, in line with Directive 2001/29/EC. Exemptions provided in Art. 41 to 56 Austrian Copyright Law are, mainly, the following:
- Temporary reproduction;
- Reproduction for personal and private use;
- Reproduction for reporting of current events.
- Reproduction in favour of disabled people.
- Use of works as insignificant accessories.
- Quotation.
- Use of protected work for educational and scientific purposes.
- Fair, free use of works of literature, music, and fine Arts.
- Non-commercial Use of picture or sound carriers and broadcasts in certain businesses.
- Use of image or sound carriers to certain federal agencies.
- Reproduction and use of protected works by libraries and museums.
- Public reproduction in accommodation establishments.

The European Union and Austria have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.

The European Union and Austria have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came 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. In Austria, the Directive has been transposed by the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) amendment of 2018, amending the Federal Act Against Unfair Competition 1984, the Code of Civil Procedure, and the Consumer Authorities Cooperation Act. However, it is reported that companies identify several challenges in effectively combating trade secret theft and misappropriation. These challenges include gaps in criminal liability, insufficient specialisation among judges, low criminal penalties, and procedural obstacles.

Passive sharing is mandated and is effective in both the mobile and fixed sectors. Access to passive infrastructure is possible based on the Telecommunications Act 2003. According to Art 8 of the Act, owners or other authorised users of an antenna mast or a high-voltage mast must permit providers of a public communications network, fire brigades, rescue services as well as police authorities the joint use if this is economically reasonable and technically feasible, in particular in terms of frequencies. The owner or other authorised user shall perform technical modifications required for this purpose or have them performed if the modifications are slight and the person seeking joint use pays the costs. The right of joint use shall also include joint use of the infrastructure necessary for operation. The owner or other authorised user must not use his power to dispose of the system to the disadvantage of the joint user. On the other hand, infrastructure sharing is practised in Austria in the mobile sector only in terms of site sharing and national roaming.
In addition, Art. 3.2 of the Directive 2014/61/EU 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.

Austria's main telecommunications provider is Telekom Austria AG. It is reported that ÖBAG owns 28.42% of the shares of Telekom Austria AG. ÖBAG is short for Österreichische Beteiligungs AG (Austrian Holding Corporation), which is a state-owned company wholly owned by the Austrian government that is responsible for managing state holdings in various strategic companies in the country.

It is reported that Austria mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

It is reported that the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a comprehensive framework for data protection that applies to all EU Member States. In Austria, the Federal Act on the Protection of Individuals With Regard to the Processing of Personal Data implements the GDPR.

In Austria, a screening mechanism was first introduced with Section 25a of the Foreign Trade Act 2011. The Act has been replaced in July 2020 by the Austrian Investment Control Act, which provides different scenarios where screening applies. The main relevant scenarios triggering the screening are, under certain circumstances, as follows:
- Acquisition of 10% or more of voting rights in the company when related to the following digitally sensitive sectors: defence equipment/defence technology; critical energy infrastructure; critical digital infrastructure (in particular 5G infrastructure); systems that enable data sovereignty of the Republic of Austria;
- Establishment of a new branch in Austria if an Austrian undertaking is acquired by a foreign entity and the relevant thresholds are met;
- Establishment of a new company in which foreign investors will have more than 10% voting rights.
The Foreign Direct Investment Screening Act provides that some transactions are exempt from the approval requirement where the target is a very small undertaking with less than ten employees and an annual turnover or annual balance of no more than 2 million euros.

According to Art. 43 of the Patent Act 1970, applications for patents are subject to formal and substantive examination by the Patent Office. Moreover, according to Art. 21, anyone who has neither domicile nor branch office in Austria can only assert rights under this Federal Act before the Patent Office if they are represented by a party representative listed in Section 77 (Only lawyers, patent attorneys, and notaries, as well as the financial procuratorate, are authorised to represent parties professionally before the Patent Office.). If the place of residence or branch is in the EEA or in the Swiss Confederation, however, the appointment of an authorised recipient resident in Switzerland is sufficient for the assertion of rights under this federal act. The requirement of the main residence in Austria does not apply to citizens of EEA contracting states if service is ensured by international treaties with the contracting state of the domicile of the authorised recipient or in another way.