The Bahamas is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). In fact, the country is not a member of the WTO.

The Bahamas’ National Investment Policy provides that foreign direct investment is to receive treatment equivalent to that afforded to domestic investors. Although the policy reserves certain business sectors for Bahamian nationals, none of these sectors are directly relevant to digital trade.

According to the Ministry of Finance’s official website, all foreigners and permanent residents seeking to conduct business in The Bahamas must submit a project proposal to the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA). The BIA operates as a “one-stop shop” to assist investors in navigating the approval process across the various government departments and agencies, ensuring that all requirements are met before the investment application is forwarded to the National Economic Council or the Cabinet for approval. BIA services are available to all investors whose projects meet the minimum investment threshold of BSD 500,000 (approx. USD 500,000).
The BIA’s Project Proposal Guidelines set out the information and documentation that investors are required to submit, in line with the National Investment Policy. This includes, inter alia, the designation of a local representative (such as an attorney, accountant or agent) and the provision of an environmental impact assessment. It has been reported, however, that companies have raised concerns about significant delays in the FDI approval process, including instances in which the government has reportedly failed to respond to investment applications.

According to Art. 18 of the Patents Act 2024, where an applicant’s ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside The Bahamas, the applicant must provide an address for service within The Bahamas.
In addition, under Art. 9 of Patents Regulations 2025, every person with an interest in proceedings to which the Regulations apply, as well as every patentee, must furnish the Registrar with an address for service in The Bahamas. The address must include the street address and any other information necessary to enable the place of business or location of the person to be easily identified, and may be supplemented by an electronic address for service.

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

The Bahamas has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Part VII of the Copyright Act of 2024 lists the exceptions, which include: research, private study, and criticism, among others.

The Bahamas has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

The Bahamas has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

The Bahamas lacks a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. According to Art. 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2017, a record is exempt from disclosure to the public if such disclosure relates to information acquired by a public authority from business, commercial or financial undertakings, and (a) the information relates to trade secrets or other matters of business, commercial or financial nature; or (ii) the disclosure of the information would be likely to expose the undertaking to a disadvantage. Moreover, it is reported that trade secrets may be protected by contract or by common law.

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

The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by the Federal Act of 8 March 1979, Establishing Provisions for the Protection of Consumers (Consumer Protection Law).

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

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

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.
Safe harbours for intermediaries of the e-Commerce Directive are incorporated into Austrian national law by the e-Commerce Act. Section V of the legislation provides for an exclusion from the liability regime, under certain circumstances, for:
- Mere access providers (Section 13).
- Search engine services (Section 14).
- Caching providers (Section 15).
- Hosting providers (Section 16).
- Link providers (Section 17).