Art. 65.3 of the Law on Industrial Property Rights allows the disclosure of data in industrial and commercial activities if necessary to protect the public interest. However, there is no further clarification on what constitutes public interest leaving this provision ambiguous.

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

Oman has a copyright regime under the Royal Decree No. 65/2008 on Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 20 lists the exceptions, which include quoting paragraphs from a protected work lawfully made available to the public in another work for clarification, explanation, or criticism purposes, to the extent of the desired purpose and as much as justified by such goal; the use of the work in meetings within the family or through an educational institution for clarification during face-to-face educational or teaching purposes, within the limits justified by such goal, provided that this would be done with no direct or indirect compensation; among others.

The MOCIIP Ministerial Decision No.209/2020 introduces a “negative list” of investments that bans foreign investment in certain sectors to safeguard national security interests. The list includes retail sales of mobile phones, their accessories, and of cards of telecommunications services licensed in the Sultanate.

Art. 6 of the Foreign Capital Investment Law stipulates that all permits required for foreign investments in Oman should be approved through the Investments Services Centre of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Oman is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2001.

Art. 36 of the Tender Law states that local SMEs may receive a bidding preference in government tenders within a 10% price differential.

Art. 16 of the Tender Law stipulates that a public tender can be a local or international tender. Foreign companies without a representative in Oman cannot participate in local tenders. To participate in local tenders, foreign companies can register a temporary branch for the duration of the work. It is reported that many international companies choose to establish an agency agreement with local companies. This agreement is registered with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP), and the agent participates in tendering on behalf of the foreign company.
In addition, Art. 23 states that a foreign company is required to register in Oman within 30 days from the award of a contracting or construction contract in an international tender.

Art. 47 of the Tender Law states that the State can use limited contracts in cases the nature of the contract requires restricting the participation in the tender to specific suppliers, contractors, or consultants within or outside the Sultanate who satisfy the required conditions.

The Tender Board Circular No. 3/2016 introduces the In-Country Value (ICV) policy in government procurement. The policy seeks to incentivize companies, including foreign companies, to procure local goods and services and provide training to Omani national employees. The government includes bidders' ICV as one factor in all government tender awards. It is reported that foreign companies find this requirement prohibitive.

Oman is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996, but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Hong Kong 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 Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) (TDO) and Sale of Goods Ordinance (Cap. 26) (SGO) are generic consumer protection laws protecting general consumers against unfair trade practices. However, as generic consumer protection laws, TDO and SGO do not specifically address the distant nature of an online transaction. For the pre-purchase stage, TDO and SGO do not contain provisions requiring online retailers to provide information such as contact details, procedures for order cancellation, and goods refund/return policy. Neither do they set out a mandatory cooling-off period, which refers to the period of time following the conclusion of a contract whereby a supplier allows its customers to unilaterally cancel the contract without having to provide a reason. As to the post-purchase stage, there are no standardized goods refund/return policies for online shopping.

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