A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringements is absent in Cabo Verde law and jurisprudence.

Art. 226 of the Legislative Decree approving the Intellectual Property Code provides that the applicant must appoint a representative in Cabo Verde in the case of patent applications filed by interested parties (natural or legal persons) who are not domiciled or established in Cabo Verde. However, the interested party or the holder of the right, whether natural or legal, domiciled or resident in Cabo Verde, is free to present his applications for industrial property titles in person or to have them presented by a recognised lawyer (Art. 225(1)).

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

Cabo Verde has a copyright regime under Decree-Law No. 1/2009. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 62 lists the exceptions, which include: the purposes of research or private study by the person using the work; the use in a private event that is not for profit and for which entry is not charged; the review or news reporting; the reproduction by photographic or similar processes, when carried out for didactic purposes by public or private libraries or centres; the use in documentation files of general interest or public institutions with a scientific or technological vocation; or the use by educational establishments; the reproduction of works, permanently exposed to the public through images or reports for academic use; the reproduction of an arrangement or translation exclusively for individual and private use; quotations from copyright work and critics; speeches and lectures before the media; performance of hymns, as well as works of a religious character; private reproduction of an arrangement or translation exclusively for an individual; among others.

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

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

Cabo Verde lacks a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. Art. 271 of Legislative Decree No. 4/2007 of 20 August 2007, approving the Intellectual Property Code (Decreto-Legislativo No. 4/2007, de 20 de Agosto, que aprova o Código da Propriedade Intelectual) states that it is an administrative offence to disclose, acquire or use a competitor's business secrets without their consent, provided that the information:
- is secret, in the sense that it is not generally known or easily accessible, in its entirety or in the exact configuration and connection of its constituent elements, to persons in the circles that normally deal with the type of information in question;
- has commercial value by virtue of its secrecy;
- has been the subject of considerable efforts, appropriate to the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information to keep it secret.

There is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Cabo Verde to deliver telecom services to end users, nor is passive infrastructure sharing practised in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

The government directly owns 3.4% of the shares in Cabo Verde Telecom. The government also indirectly owns shares in Cabo Verde Telecom for a total of 78.6% of shares through the following public companies: National Institute of Social Security (INPS) (57.9%), Airports and Aviation Security (ASA) (20%) and Cape Verde Post Office (CCV) (0.7%).

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

Art. 99.4 of the Public Procurement Code provides that factors may be foreseen that grant greater weight to bids submitting goods produced, extracted or farmed in Cabo Verde or relating to services provided or supplies made by entities of Cabo-Verdean nationality or with registered offices in Cabo-Verdean territory. Moreover, Art. 13 states that, in the contract formation procedure, all factors contributing to the promotion of national economic development, production development, procurement, industry and services of Cabo Verde, as well as compliance with national social policies, shall be considered.

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

There are no foreign ownership limitations in sectors relevant to digital trade, as confirmed by Decree-Law No. 34/2013.

It is reported that an approval process serves as a screening mechanism for inbound foreign investment. The process begins with the submission of a formal expression of interest to the investment promotion agency Cabo Verde TradeInvest in accordance with the Investment Law. Relevant government entities (depending on the sector and the nature of the investment) then conduct an integrated review of the investment project and provide an opinion. If the opinion is favourable, Cabo Verde TradeInvest, in coordination with relevant agencies, approves the project and issues an investor certificate no later than 45 days from the submission of interest.