Law No. 7,975 and its Regulation (No. 34927-J-COMEX-S-MAG) provide a framework for effective protection of trade secrets.

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

It is reported that the rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 58% in 2017 (above the 52% rate of the Latin American countries) for an estimated commercial value of USD 80 million. Nevertheless, it is reported that Costa Rica made concrete steps to improve its intellectual property (IP) regime, including addressing unlicensed software use in the central government and implementing an online recordation system to improve border enforcement.

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

Costa rica has a copyright regime under the Law No. 6,683. However, the exceptions does not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 67-76 list the exceptions, which include the reproduction of: news that have the character of mere press information; speeches made in deliberative assemblies or public meetings, works for educational or scientific purposes, among others.

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

According to Art. 34 of the Law No. 6867 on Patents, Industrial Designs and Utility Models, it is mandatory to appoint a local representative to file a patent application if the applicant has a domicile or headquarters outside of Costa Rica.

In general, there are no restrictions based on nationality for directors and managers of telecommunications companies. However, in the case of the Costa Rican Institute for Electricity (ICE), a major public company providing electricity and telecommunications services, all directors must be Costa Rican nationals. This required is in Art. 10 of Law of Creation of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, which states that the superior administration of the ICE shall correspond to a Board of Directors and that all of them must be Costa Ricans characterized by their honorability.

Costa Rica 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 2015.

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) is a fully state-owned enterprise and acquisition of shares need to be approved through special laws.

Moreover, according to Art. 15 of Law No. 7789, foreign participation in public or private telecommunication companies entering into joint ventures with the state-owned Heredia Public Services Company (ESPH) is limited to a maximum of 49% of the capital stock.

There are some reports of worries regarding the implementation of the General Public Procurement Law No. 9,986. First, the law introduces within its provisions the fines for reckless appeals (among other procedural remedies), a pecuniary sanction not contemplated in the Administrative Contracting Law, the purpose of which is to try to dissuade those who file a reckless objection, revocation, or appeal appeals, in bad faith or in abuse of procedural rights, in order to discourage dilatory practices that affect the public interest. Yet, there are concerns that there is a degree of subjectivity as the administration assesses which procedural remedies presented against it are considered reckless under Art. 93.
Secondly, there are concerns about the rigid informatic system for filing procedural remedies. The Law establishes that for the filling of a procedural resource against the administration in public procurement, this must be carried out electronically (Art. 95).
Lastly, according to Art. 103, contractors or bidders must verify their compliance with the legality of the public procurement process. This verification is reported to be burdensome for bidders and it has been argued that it does not follow the principle of legitimate reliance in the administration (in that the public administration should exercise the power of its own acts and invalidate those that are illegal).

Some foreign companies have indicated that the private sector is sometimes disadvantaged in public bids when competing against Costa Rican state-owned enterprises in the ICT sector. Certain purchases are made directly from suppliers that have been pre-qualified and pre-registered with government entities and, in general, public procurement still lacks transparency. There are plans to migrate the system, making SICOP ("Sistema Integrado de Compras Públicas") the primary platform used for public procurement; but it is unclear when, or if, this complete system migration will occur.

Art. 2 of the Public Contracting Law allows for the non-competitive awarding of contracts to public entities (also termed “direct purchase”) if officials of the awarding entity certify the award to be an efficient use of public funds. The Information and Telecommunications Business Chamber (CAMTIC) has been advocating against what its members feel to be unfair use by government entities of this article. Telecoms and technology sector companies have called attention to the fact that government agencies often choose state-owned enterprises as their telecom services providers despite the availability of private sector telecom companies. Starting from December 2022, the Public Contracting Law No. 7,494 has been replaced by the General Public Procurement Law No. 9,986, which does not contain this provision.

Costa Rica is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).