The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbour. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.
The Act on Some Services of Information implements the e-Commerce Directive into Czech law, incorporating mere conduit (Art. 3), caching (Art. 4) and hosting safe harbours (Art. 5), and prohibition of general monitoring obligation (Art. 6).

The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbour. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.
The Act on Some Services of Information implements the e-Commerce Directive into Czech law, incorporating mere conduit (Art. 3), caching (Art. 4) and hosting safe harbours (Art. 5), and prohibition of general monitoring obligation (Art. 6).

Art. 17 of Directive 2019/790 on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive) mandates that providers of content-sharing services seek authorisation from rights holders and implement technical solutions to remove and prevent unauthorised uploads by their users (so-called upload filters), under penalty of losing their liability safe harbour. Further arrangements are envisaged for complaints and dispute resolution mechanisms. Such upload filters are reported to be a significant cost for online platforms. Graduated exemptions are expected to be put in place for new providers active in the EU for less than three years with a turnover under EUR 10 million and with fewer than five million users. The provision is subject to a challenge in the Court of Justice by Poland (C-401/19).
To implement Directive 2019/790, the Parliament has adopted the Act No. 429/2022 Coll., therefore making online content-sharing service providers partially liable for copyright violations on their platforms.

The Czech Republic is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Czech Copyright Act has no general fair use/fair dealing but Arts. 29-39 of the Act provide an exhaustive list of exceptions and limitations of copyright, which, in certain specific cases, allow the general public to use works without the author’s consent. 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.

Copyright protection is not adequately enforced online in the Czech Republic. Although business software piracy rates are reportedly declining, the entertainment software industry continues to face significant problems, particularly due to delays in criminal enforcement proceedings. Reports indicate that offences involving copyright, related rights, and database rights in the digital environment persist, notably through the use of data repositories. In particular, the unauthorised distribution of films, music, software, book publications, and authors’ texts remains widespread.

The Czech Republic and the European Union have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. The Czech Republic acceded to the Treaty on 10 October 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 Czech Republic and the European Union have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The Czech Republic acceded to the Treaty on 10 October 2001, with its provisions coming into force on 20 May 2002. Subsequently, the European Union ratified the Treaty on 14 December 2009, and it entered into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. The Czech Republic has transposed Directive (EU) 2016/943 by introducing an amendment to the Act on the Enforcement of Industrial Property Rights in December 2018.

It is reported that passive sharing is mandated in the Czech Republic, and it is practised in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements. In addition, Directive 2014/61/EU (Art. 3.2) establishes that Member States shall ensure that, upon written request of an undertaking providing or authorised to provide public communications networks, any network operator must meet all reasonable requests for access to its physical infrastructure under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, with a view to deploying elements of high-speed electronic communications networks. Such written request shall specify the elements of the project for which the access is requested, including a specific time frame.

The Czech Republic does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, accounting separation is required in certain cases.
Pursuant to Art. 51 of Act No. 127/2005 Coll. on Electronic Communications, the Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) is mandated to analyse the relevant markets, in order to assess whether they are effectively competitive. On the basis of the market analysis, the CTU may designate an undertaking as having significant market power and, where appropriate, impose specific obligations, including the obligation to maintain separate records of costs and revenues.

It is reported that the Czech Telecommunication Office (CTU), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Line 1.4 of Annex No. 2 to Decree No. 316/2021 stipulates that specific operational data, which includes information relating to identified or identifiable users, must remain within the territory of the Member States of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association. This condition applies to cloud computing services offered to public authorities, thereby influencing the management of personal data within the public sector.

It is reported that foreign persons or entities may conduct business activity under the same conditions as Czechs.  Foreign entities have to register their permanent branches in the Czech Commercial Register, and there are no limits on foreign ownership.

The Foreign Investment Screening Act targets foreign investors whose ultimate beneficial owner is from non-EU countries and who acquire at least 10% of voting rights or substantial control over a Czech company in a sector vital to the security, public, or internal order of the Czech Republic (Art. 5). According to Art. 8, foreign investments in sectors involving selected dual-use goods or critical infrastructure, including critical information infrastructure, that could endanger national security or public order, require mandatory authorisation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) before the investment is completed. The screening process lasts 90 days, and if a national security risk is identified, the Czech government has an additional 45 days to decide whether to approve, conditionally approve, or prohibit the transaction (Art. 13).