Djibouti Telecom holds the monopoly of national and international telecommunications throughout Djibouti. In this respect, Art. 68 of Law No. 80/AN/04/5th L provides that Djibouti Telecom shall be granted an exclusive licence.
Art. 12 of the Law provides that the establishment and operation of telecommunications networks or services open to the public, using limited resources or using the public highway, is subject to obtaining a licence issued by the Minister. According to Art. 14, licences are granted if minimum conditions of continuity, quality and availability are respected, conditions for infrastructure sharing are met, a contribution is made to the cost of universal access to ICTs, and specific requirements for national defence and public security are met, among others.
Art. 7. e further clarifies that the Minister issues suspends, and withdraws licences on the proposal of the Regulatory Agency under the conditions laid down by the provisions of this law.

Art. L.1211-6 of the Commercial Code provides that any legal entity whose head office is located abroad and which undertakes a commercial activity in the Republic of Djibouti must, within one month from the start of this activity, require the registration of a branch in the Republic of Djibouti. This request is to be filed with the registry responsible for maintaining the Register of Commerce and Companies. The Code defines commercial activity as including e-commerce.

It is reported that Djibouti’s legal structure for protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights (IPRs) is weak, although it is developing, and IPRs are rarely enforced.

Djibouti is a party in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Djibouti has a copyright regime under the Law No. 154/AN/06. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 54 lists the exceptions, which include (a) the reproduction, translation, adaptation, arrangement or other transformation of such work exclusively for the producer’s own personal or private use; (b) the inclusion of non substantial quotations from another work; (c) the use of the work by way of illustration in publications, broadcasts or sound or visual recordings for teaching to the extent justified by the intended purpose; (d) the public performance of a work; (e) the reproduction by a photographic or similar process by public libraries or noncommercial documentation centres; (f) the reproduction in the press or the communication to the public; (g) for the purpose of reporting on current events by means of photography, cinematography, broadcast or communication by wire to the public; (h) the production of a copy or adaptation of software by the legitimate owner, provided it is necessary for archiving and to replace the legally held copy in the event of it being lost or necessary for using the computer program for which it was created.

It is reported that counterfeit products are commonly available in Djibouti’s digital markets, including of electronics.

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

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

There is no comprehensive regime regulating trade secrets in Djibouti. However, there are limited measures addressing some issues related to trade secrets in Law No. 50/AN/09/6th L on the Protection of Industrial Property (Loi No. 50/AN/09/6ème L du 19 Juillet 2009 portant protection de la propriété industrielle). Art. 183 bestows upon natural persons and legal entities the right to prevent information lawfully within their control from being disclosed to, acquired by, or used by others without their consent in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices so long as such information: (a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question; (b) has commercial value because it is secret; and (c) has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret.

There is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the country to deliver telecom services to end users, and it is not practised both in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

According to Arts. 4, 5, and 8 of Law No. 13/AN/98/4ème L, there are limits to the proportion of shares that foreign investors can acquire in publicly controlled firms. Djibouti Télécom (DT), which is fully state-owned has a monopoly on the provision of telecom services and remains the country's only telecommunications operator (internet, fixed and mobile telephone services). In July 2021, the Council of Ministers announced its intention to open the capital of Djibouti Télécom, the national monopoly, to a private operator. During a meeting of the Council of Ministers in September 2021, the Government of Djibouti approved a draft law defining the terms and conditions for the legal sale of 40% of the stock of the public fixed-line and mobile telephony operator, Djibouti Télécom, to a "top-flight strategic partner".

Djibouti Télécom (DT), which is fully state-owned has a monopoly on the provision of telecom services and remains the country's only telecommunications operator (internet, fixed and mobile telephone services). In July 2021, the Council of Ministers announced its intention to open the capital of Djibouti Télécom, the national monopoly, to a private operator. During a meeting of the Council of Ministers in September 2021, the Government of Djibouti approved a draft law defining the terms and conditions for the legal sale of 40% of the stock of the public fixed-line and mobile telephony operator, Djibouti Télécom, to a "top-flight strategic partner".

A general requirement for accounting and functional separation for dominant network operators has not been found in the law. Yet, some requirements apply to Djibouti Telecom, which benefits from an exclusive licence and, as of 2023, has a monopoly on national and international telecommunications throughout the country.. According to Art. 68 of Law No. 80/AN/04/5th L, the Regulatory Agency may open up the provision of telecommunications services to competition in certain markets and localities, where Djibouti Telecom may only operate through subsidiaries. In this case, pursuant to Art. 70, relations between the operator and its subsidiaries are governed by the principle of financial and accounting separation.

According to Art. 17.2.5 of Law No. 53/AN/09/6ème L, a margin of preference of up to 7.5% may be granted to offers from natural persons of Djiboutian nationality or legal entities under Djiboutian law and whose capital is majority held by the State or by natural persons of Djiboutian nationality. Additionally, a margin of preference of up to 4% may be granted to offers from foreign persons who undertake to subcontract at least 20% of the amount of the services covered by the contract to local providers. Moreover, a margin of preference of up to 15% may be granted to offers proposing supplies manufactured in the Republic of Djibouti.

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