Djibouti is a party in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Djibouti has a copyright regime under the Law No. 154/AN/06. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 54 lists the exceptions, which include (a) the reproduction, translation, adaptation, arrangement or other transformation of such work exclusively for the producer’s own personal or private use; (b) the inclusion of non substantial quotations from another work; (c) the use of the work by way of illustration in publications, broadcasts or sound or visual recordings for teaching to the extent justified by the intended purpose; (d) the public performance of a work; (e) the reproduction by a photographic or similar process by public libraries or noncommercial documentation centres; (f) the reproduction in the press or the communication to the public; (g) for the purpose of reporting on current events by means of photography, cinematography, broadcast or communication by wire to the public; (h) the production of a copy or adaptation of software by the legitimate owner, provided it is necessary for archiving and to replace the legally held copy in the event of it being lost or necessary for using the computer program for which it was created.

It is reported that counterfeit products are commonly available in Djibouti’s digital markets, including of electronics.

Art. L.1211-6 of the Commercial Code provides that any legal entity whose head office is located abroad and which undertakes a commercial activity in the Republic of Djibouti must, within one month from the start of this activity, require the registration of a branch in Republic of Djibouti. This request is to be filed with the registry responsible for maintaining the Register of Commerce and Companies. The Code defines commercial activity to include e-commerce.

It is reported that Djibouti’s legal structure for protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights (IPRs) is weak, although it is developing, and IPRs are rarely enforced.

According to Arts. 4, 5, and 8 of Law No. 13/AN/98/4ème L, there are limits to the proportion of shares that can be acquired by foreign investors in publicly-controlled firms. Djibouti Télécom (DT), which is fully state-owned has a monopoly on the provision of telecom services and remains the country's only telecommunications operator (internet, fixed and mobile telephone services). In July 2021, the Council of Ministers announced its intention to open the capital of Djibouti Télécom, the national monopoly, to a private operator. During a meeting of the Council of Ministers in September 2021, the Government of Djibouti approved a draft law defining the terms and conditions for the legal sale of 40% of the stock of the public fixed-line and mobile telephony operator, Djibouti Télécom, to a "top-flight strategic partner".

According to Art. 14 of the 1992 Freedom of Communication Law, participants in the financial management of any press body must be citizens of Djibouti. Section 2 states that the law applies to all forms and modes of social communication, including audiovisual communication companies. In addition, according to Art. 17, the director and deputy director of any media outlet must be a resident of Djibouti.
The Law does not define what a media outlet is, however, it is reported that a media outlet is the broadcasting channel providing news, information and feature stories to the public by way of newspapers, magazines, social media and the Internet, television and radio.

According to Art. 17.2.5 of Law No. 53/AN/09/6ème L, a margin of preference of up to 7.5% may be granted to offers from natural persons of Djiboutian nationality or legal entities under Djiboutian law and whose capital is majority held by the State or by natural persons of Djiboutian nationality. Additionally, a margin of preference of up to 4% may be granted to offers from foreign persons who undertake to subcontract at least 20% of the amount of the services covered by the contract to local providers. Moreover, a margin of preference of up to 15% may be granted to offers proposing supplies manufactured in the Republic of Djibouti.

Djibouti is not a signatory to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

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

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

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

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

According to Art. 7 of Decree No. D/2021/0196/PRG/CNRD/SGG, the practice of e-commerce is subject to a list of requirements including having a dedicated domain name with ".gn" or ".com" extension for the activity.