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

Benin does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to trade secrets. The country has established provisions addressing disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in the course of industrial or commercial activities by third parties in Art. 6 of Annex VIII of the Bangui Agreement ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Benin since 2002.

According to Art. 72 of Law No. 2017-20, the Regulatory Authority shall encourage sharing active and passive infrastructures and access to alternative infrastructures under equity, non-discrimination, and equal access conditions. The Authority can make infrastructure sharing mandatory in specific cases such as i) promotion of competition objectives, ii) territorial planning, or iii) protection of the environment or heritage.

According to Art. 1 of Decree No. 2018-552 of 12 December 2018, the State is the sole shareholder of the telecommunications company SBIN S.A, which is therefore fully state-owned.

It is reported that Benin mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

Benin has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

The Post and Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) is the Authority in charge of regulating electronic communications and postal services. The Regulatory Authority is an independent administrative structure with legal personality and financial and management autonomy. It carries out its missions in an independent, impartial, fair and transparent manner (Art. 113 of Law No. 2017-20).

Section 43 of Law No. 2009-09 provides that the transfer of personal data to another country or an international organisation requires prior authorisation from the Regulator.

Art. 77 of Law No. 2020 - 26 provides for a specific preference for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Any candidate for a public contract who plans to subcontract at least 30% of the total value of the said contract to one or more MSMEs benefits from a margin of preference that may not exceed 5%. In addition, notwithstanding the provisions relating to Community preference, when a public contract is awarded, a preference of 5% must be given to the tender submitted by an MSME. This preference rate may be combined with the Community preference rate of 15%.

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

According to the Benin Investment Code of 2020, which establishes the general conditions, advantages and rules applicable to domestic and foreign direct investments in Benin, legal persons of foreign nationality shall not receive less favourable treatment than that granted to legal persons of Beninese nationality (Art. 11).

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

In accordance with Art. 75 of Law No. 2020-26, a community preference of up to 15% of the bid amount must be granted to the bid submitted by a company that is a national of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The preferential regime applies provided that:
- In the case of suppliers, if they offer goods whose manufacturing cost includes an added value for one of the member countries of the WAEMU of at least 30%;
- In the case of service providers or consultants resident in the WAEMU, if the service is valued at more than 5% of the value of the service or consultation provided.
In addition, the community preference scheme may only be granted to the legal entities referred to in this article:
- If more than half of their capital belongs to nationals, whether natural or legal persons, of one of the member states of the WAEMU.
- If half of their deliberative and management bodies are controlled or held by nationals of one of the member states of the WAEMU.
Temporary groupings of foreign operators concluded with natural or legal persons who are members of a state of the WAEMU may also benefit from community preference.