According to the General Regulations for Data Update of Prepayment Mobile Users, users of prepayment mobile subscriptions must validate their identity. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are required to collect and record a user’s personal information and proof-of-identity documentation. It has been reported that MNOS must share their customers’ full or partial registration profiles with the government upon request.

Art. 53 of the Regulation on the Regime for the Protection of the End User of Telecommunications Services obliges telecommunications operators and service providers to verify the authenticity of the data provided by the client when subscribing to services. If they find that the information submitted for the subscription of services is altered or falsified, they must refuse to sign the contract for the services requested.

For the conformity assessment, the equipment has to be submitted to certification bodies recognised by the regulator for certification. The SUTEL (Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones) recognises the FCC or CE certificates. It is reported that an accreditation system has not been implemented in Costa Rica due to the lack of adequate laboratory equipment and funding. The Institute of Technological Norms of Costa Rica (Instituto de Normas Técnicas, INTECO) is the only entity accredited in Costa Rica that can certify that companies are following standards-related requirements. According to Section 6 of RCS-358-2018, an expert accredited by SUTEL performs the tests of mobile telecommunications terminals in accordance with the homologation test protocol. The following products need to be tested: cell phone Trackers, RFID WiFi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), and Bluetooth modules.

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which operates in the telecom sector, is a fully state-owned enterprise, and the acquisition of shares needs to be approved through special laws. Moreover, according to Art. 15 of Law No. 7789, foreign participation in public or private telecommunication companies entering into joint ventures with the state-owned Heredia Public Services Company (ESPH) is limited to a maximum of 49% of the capital stock.

In general, there are no restrictions based on nationality for directors and managers of telecommunications companies. However, in the case of the Costa Rican Institute for Electricity (ICE), a major public company providing electricity and telecommunications services, all directors must be Costa Rican nationals. This requirement is in Art. 10 of the Law of Creation of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, which states that the superior administration of the ICE shall correspond to a Board of Directors and that all of them must be Costa Ricans characterised by their honorability.

According to Art. 34 of Law No. 6,867 on Patents, Industrial Designs and Utility Models, it is mandatory to appoint a local representative to file a patent application if the applicant has a domicile or headquarters outside of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Costa Rica has a copyright regime under Law No. 6,683. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 67-76 list the exceptions, which include the reproduction of news that have the character of mere press information, speeches made in deliberative assemblies or public meetings, and works for educational or scientific purposes, among others.

Costa Rica has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

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

Law No. 7,975 and its Regulation (No. 34927-J-COMEX-S-MAG) provide a framework for effective protection of trade secrets.

There is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the country to deliver telecom services to end users. Moreover, passive infrastructure sharing is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements. The "Regulation on Infrastructure Sharing for the Support of Public Telecommunication Networks" regulates the sharing of infrastructure for public telecommunications networks in Costa Rica.

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which operates in the telecom sector, is a fully state-owned enterprise, and the acquisition of shares needs to be approved through special laws. Moreover, according to Art. 15 of Law No. 7789, foreign participation in public or private telecommunication companies entering into joint ventures with the state-owned Heredia Public Services Company (ESPH) is limited to a maximum of 49% of the capital stock.

The main fixed-line operator, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rican Institute of Electricity, ICE), is fully state-owned. ICE is an autonomous entity that is part of the Costa Rican state that was organised under the laws of the Republic through Executive Order No. 449 and Act 3,226.
According to Art. 121, Par. 14 (c) of the Constitution of Costa Rica, wireless services cannot be permanently removed from State ownership. Art. 28 of Law No. 8,642 and Art. 7 of Law No. 8,660 state that fixed telephony services are subject to a special legislative concession regime.
The state-owned company ICE continues to hold a monopoly on the provision of traditional basic fixed telephony. Yet, in addition to ICE, there are 13 providers on the fixed services market using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and 56 providers of Internet services. ICE and four other operators (Telefónica (Movistar), América Móvil (Claro), and two mobile virtual network operators (RACSA and Televisora de Costa Rica) provide mobile telephony services in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. According to Art. 34 of the Regulation of Access and Interconnection of telecommunication networks, operators or providers involved in network access and/or interconnection shall prepare, maintain and submit to Sutel financial statements with separate cost accounting for their activities related to access and interconnection, as well as for the different services and/or networks in which they provide services. The separation of accounts shall be submitted to Sutel accompanied by a report made by an auditor external to the operator or provider, showing the consistency of such information with the corresponding financial statements, the respect for the segmentation principles set forth in this article and that the segmented information represents a true and fair view of the contribution to the overall result of each segment.