Gabon has a clear regime of copyright exceptions, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission (Arts. 33-37 of Law No. 1/87). The regime follows the fair use model. In addition, the Revised Bangui Agreement, which is a regional intellectual property law that is not only a regional convention applicable in all member states but also serves as a national intellectual property law in Gabon and each of the other member states, contains provisions on copyright in Annex VII: Chapter IV (Limitations to Economic Rights). Although the Agreement establishes a set of copyright exceptions, these do not adhere to the fair use or fair dealing models.

Gabon has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Gabon has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

According to Art. 30 of Ordinance No. 00000015/PR/2018 February 2018 regulating cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime in the Gabonese Republic, the service provider or the person providing or importing a cryptology service has to make it available to the competent cryptology authority a description of the technical characteristics of this means of cryptology, as well as the source code of the software used. Also, following Art. 34, when it appears that the data entered or obtained during the investigation have been the subject of transformation operations preventing unencrypted access or are likely to compromise the information that they contain, the Public Prosecutor, the Examining Magistrate or the trial court may demand any qualified natural or legal person, with a view to carrying out the technical operations making it possible to obtain the unencrypted version of said data.

Gabon does not have comprehensive trade secret legislation. Yet, there are provisions addressing disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in the course of industrial or commercial activities by third parties in Art. 6 of Annex VIII of the Bangui Agreement ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Gabon, since 2002.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Gabon to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

Gabon is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

According to Art. 119 of the Public Procurement Code 2018, when awarding a contract, in case of equivalent offers, priority is given to a tender presented either by (i) a natural or legal person of Gabonese law; (ii) a natural or legal person proving an economic activity on Gabonese territory; (iii) a small and medium-sized national company whose capital is majority owned by people of Gabonese nationality or Gabonese law; and (iv) business groups associating Gabonese companies or providing for significant subcontracting to nationals. In the regional framework, a community preference can be attributed to the offer presented by a company from the area of ​​the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). In accordance with Art. 119, the margin of preference is 10% for works contracts and 15% for supply contracts.

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

There are no limits on foreign ownership or control in Gabon. Investments in Gabon are governed by the Gabonese 1998 Investment Charter of 1998, which is aligned with the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) investment regulations. The Charter provides the same rights to foreign companies operating in Gabon as to domestic firms.

According to the Bangui Agreement, ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Gabon, applicants resident outside the territory of the Member States must file through an agent selected in one of those Member States (Section III, Art. 8). The professional status of agent accredited to the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) is governed by the Regulations on the profession of Authorised Agent before the OAPI.

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

Art. 5 of the Investment Proclamation No. 59/1994 states that all sectors are open to any investors, with the exception of domestic retail, domestic wholesale, import, and commission agency companies, which are excluded unless there is a bilateral agreement of reciprocity. Yet, it is reported that, in practice, this law has been suspended. The ruling Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) determines the sectors in which private investment is accepted and defines the terms under which it is permitted. As a result, investment is de facto prohibited in most sectors of the economy (with the exception of mining), including the e-retail sector. It has also been reported that the majority of large enterprises are either wholly or partially owned by the government or the PFDJ.