A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in DRC's law and jurisprudence.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in DRC's law and jurisprudence.

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

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

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

The 2010 Public Procurement Law provides that a public administration can limit their participation through domestic preference granted to national and regional companies. Art. 37.5 considers nationality, residency, regional presence, and cooperation partners as criteria to provide a preference that would result in a reduction in the tenderer's financial offer. Art. 86 of Decree No. 10/22, laying down guidelines for the application of the Law related to Public Procurement, requires tender offers to explicitly mention "national preference" when publishing tenders that apply this requirement.

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

According to Art. 40 of Law No. 20/017 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies, the legal entity benefiting from a licence must adopt the form of a Société Anonyme (‘S.A’). Without prejudice to agreements and conventions to which the Congolese State is a party, at least thirty per cent (30%) of the share capital of the aforementioned company must be allocated as follows:
- At least 25% must be held by Congolese natural or legal persons whose shares are owned by Congolese natural persons. This subscription must be paid within three years of the company’s incorporation.
- 5% is reserved for Congolese employees of the company.
In the event that the 30% threshold mentioned above is not met, the company may still be incorporated, provided the share reserved for Congolese workers is guaranteed.

It is reported that, in practice, the DRC requires foreign investors to hire local agents and participate in a joint venture with the government or local partners.

The DRC lacks a dedicated organization for screening inbound foreign investment. Instead, this responsibility falls upon the Presidency and various ministries, functioning in a de facto capacity.

According to Art. 18 of Law No. 82-001 on Industrial Property, non-Congolese patent applicants domiciled abroad are obliged to indicate an address for service with a Congolese agent and to work through them.

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

The DRC has a copyright regime under the Ordinance-Law No. 86-033 on the Protection of Copyright and Neighboring Rights. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 24-32 list the exceptions, which include reproducing quotations or excerpts of protected works for cultural, scientific, teaching, critical or polemic purposes, provided that the source, title and name of the author are mentioned; the reproduction of photographs in anthologies intended for teaching use and in scientific works shall be authorised; among others.