It is reported that in Bulgaria, there are no restrictions for domestic or foreign private entities to establish and own businesses. The Offshore Companies Act (not accessible online) prohibits companies in offshore jurisdictions with more than 10% foreign ownership from engaging in 28 specific activities, including banking and insurance. However, these companies may operate if the physical owners of the parent company are publicly known Bulgarian citizens if the parent company's shares are listed on a stock exchange, or if the parent company is registered in a jurisdiction with a double tax treaty with Bulgaria.

Art. 3 of the Act on Patents and Registration of Utility Models requires applicants that are not established in the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland to act before the Patent Office through a lawyer or an industrial property representative.

Bulgaria is a signatory of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

There is no general principle for the use of copyright-protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principles. Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test” in line with the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.
Art. 23 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act specifies a series of exceptions, including scientific research, educational uses, analysis and comment and news coverage. Art. 25 provides an exception for private copies.

It is reported that Bulgaria exhibits inadequate prosecution efforts, lengthy and inefficient procedures, and a lack of deterrent criminal penalties, particularly in the area of online piracy. Stakeholders have expressed concerns about notorious online piracy sites reportedly hosted in or operated from Bulgaria.

Bulgaria and the European Union have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. Bulgaria acceded to the Treaty on 29 March 2001, with its provisions coming into force on 6 March 2002. Subsequently, the European Union ratified the Treaty on 14 December 2009, and it entered into effect on 14 March 2010.

The "Act on the Economic and Financial Relations with Companies Registered in Preferential Tax Regime Jurisdictions, the Persons Related to Them and Their Beneficial Owners" stipulates that companies registered in the jurisdictions listed in §1 No. 64 of the "Supplementary Provisions of the Corporate Income Tax" may not participate in public procurement procedures. This includes a closed list of countries and territories, as well as all jurisdictions with which Bulgaria has no effective double taxation treaties and where taxes are lower than 40% of the taxes in Bulgaria. The ban includes "related parties" – notably shareholders. This restriction is waived when the owners of the company in question are "Bulgarian citizens and known to the public" if the company is publicly traded or if the parent company is a media publisher and declared its owner.

Art. 85 of the Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU) contains provisions allowing contracting public entities to reject foreign goods not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures. In these cases, a tender submitted for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries exceeds 50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender (Art. 85.2). Additionally, in cases of equivalent offers, the provisions provide for a preference for European tenders and tenders covered by EU's international obligations. In practice, this possibility has rarely been used.
In 2019, the Directive has been transposed with the Implementing Rules of the Public Procurement Act, as well as by the Public Procurement Act.

The EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) covers traditional broadcasting services as well as audiovisual media services provided on-demand, including via the Internet. Art. 13.1 provides for Member States to secure a minimum 30% share of European works in the catalogues as well as "ensuring prominence" of those works. "Prominence" involves promoting European works by facilitating access to such works using any appropriate means to ensure their prominence. The Directive has been implemented by Member States in different ways, ranging from very extensive and detailed measures to a mere reference to the general obligation to promote European works.
In Belgium, the EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services is implemented in the three separate language communities. An example is the Decree on Radio and Television Broadcasting (Flemish Community), which, according to Art. 157, requires the programme catalogues of non-linear television broadcasters (VOD) to include at least 30% European works, with a significant proportion being Dutch-language European works. Additionally, the Flemish Government may set quotas to define what constitutes a significant proportion of Dutch-language European works.
Moreover, VOD services providers must contribute to the production of Flemish audiovisual works either through direct financial involvement or by contributing to the Flemish Audiovisual Fund. These contributions support high-quality, independent Flemish co-productions in series format.
According to Art. 3 of Decision of the Flemish Government Concerning the Participation of Private Non-Linear Television Broadcasters in the Production of Flemish Audiovisual Works, each year by 15 February, VOD services providers must send a registered letter to the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), the Flemish Regulator for the Media, and the Flemish Government, specifying their chosen form of participation in Flemish audiovisual production and the corresponding financial contribution. If no letter or required documents are submitted, the broadcaster is automatically considered to have opted for a fixed financial contribution of EUR 3,000,000 to the VAF. This amount is indexed annually, starting from 1 January 2020, based on the price index as defined in the Royal Decree of 24 December 1993.

The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by the Chapters VI.-XII on Market Practices and Consumer Protection of the Code of Economic Law.

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

Belgium has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Belgium has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.