São Tomé e Príncipe has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

Art. 13 of Law No. 2/93 states that journalistic companies with a profit motive, based in the country and subject only to São Toméan law, may have foreign capital participation up to 25% and without voting rights. This includes online newspapers. In fact, Art. 10 defines journalistic companies as those whose main purpose is the collection, processing and dissemination of news, comments and images intended for publication in the periodical press.

Art. 14.1 of Law No. 2/93 requires that directors and managers of journalistic companies must be nationals or natural persons in full possession of their civil rights and resident in the country. This includes online newspapers. In fact, Art. 10 defines journalistic companies as those whose main purpose is the collection, processing and dissemination of news, comments and images intended for publication in the periodical press.

In accordance with Arts. 27, 28 and 29 of Decree-Law No. 19/2016, all inbound investment proposals must be screened and approved by the applicable ministry for the economic sector in coordination with the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (APCI). Following Art. 14, an investment proposal can be rejected if it threatens national security, public health, or ecological equilibrium and if the proposal has a negative effect or insufficient contribution to the country’s economy. The government encourages but does not require the hiring of the local workforce.

Art. 28 of Law No. 4/2001 and Art. 3 of Decree-Law No. 23/2016 establish that legal and procedural actions related to industrial property can only be filed with the National Service of Intellectual Property and Quality of São Tomé e Príncipe (SENAPIQ-STP) and that natural or legal persons who are not established or domiciled in São Tomé e Príncipe must appoint an industrial property agent with residence in São Tomé e Príncipe to represent them. This is also applicable to the filing of patent applications.

São Tomé e Príncipe is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

São Tomé e Príncipe has a copyright regime under the Copyright Code of 2017. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 75 lists the exceptions, which include reproduction and making available to the public by means of social communication and for the purposes of information; reproduction for scientific research purposes; reproduction as part of teaching activities; and reporting current events, among others.

São Tomé e Príncipe is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA I) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II). In fact, São Tomé e Príncipe is not a member of the WTO, although it is an observer.

According to Art. 43 of Law No. 8/2009, domestic preference margins may be applied in international public tenders, allowing up to 7.5% for works and up to 10% for goods and services produced in São Tomé e Príncipe.

São Tomé e Príncipe is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), nor does it have observer status. In fact, São Tomé e Príncipe is not a member of the WTO, although it is an observer.

Foreign manufacturers of telecommunications equipment have reported serious difficulties in obtaining product approvals in Russia. The Law on Communications establishes a separate procedure for licensing and certification in the sphere of telecommunications. Communication devices are subject to a procedure of mandatory conformity acknowledgement by way of either compulsory certification or compulsory declaration of conformity from the Federal Communications Agency (FCA) if they are to be supplied in connection with a common carrier network in Russia.
A declaration of conformity is a document in which the applicant confirms that the product it has manufactured corresponds to the conformity requirements. To be valid, a declaration of conformity for the relevant telecommunications device is subject to registration with the FCA. A declaration of conformity should be filed for registration by an applicant accompanied by the relevant evidence of the device’s conformity obtained with the help of accredited test laboratories. On the other hand, the competent authority for certification is the Certification Agency. A manufacturer or supplier of a device files an application with the Certification Agency, which carries out the certification test.
The complete list of communication products subject to mandatory certification is approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 532.

Equipment and devices containing encryption have to be registered with the Federal Security Service (FSS), and the manufacturer or the seller has to obtain FSS notification upon importation or exportation of such equipment.
Notification of the FSS recognises the fact that the products manufactured by the enterprise contain various elements of a cryptographic/encryption nature. Notification of the FSS is a prerequisite for the import into the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) or export from the territory of the EAEU of equipment containing encryption elements.
The registration of the FSS notification when importing or exporting goods is regulated in accordance with the Regulations on the import into the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union and export from the customs territory of the EAEU of encryption means (Annex No. 9 to the Decision of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission No. 30 dated April 21, 2015). Notification of the FSS is necessary for equipment and devices, both general civil, industrial, scientific and other purposes, including a large list of products containing cryptographic components, which includes many high-tech devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, laptops, wireless keyboards, wireless mice, servers, RFID tags (a device for the extraction of various cryptocurrencies (miners)) and many other devices. If a device has already been listed in the EAEU register, no notification is required.

Companies need to acquire a license in order to be engaged in distributing encryption facilities, maintaining encryption facilities, providing encryption services, and developing and manufacturing encryption facilities protected by means of encryption under Art. 12 of Federal Law No. 128-FZ “On Licensing Specific Types of Activity”.