Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Turkmenistan, where the widespread use of unlicensed software is reported. Although some government agencies have begun to adopt licensed software, the country has yet to issue a presidential decree, law, or regulation requiring the use of licensed software by government ministries and agencies.

Turkmenistan has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Turkmenistan has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Art. 11 of Law No. 53-II provides that officials and employees of State authorities and administrative bodies, when performing control, supervisory and other functions, have the right, within the limits of their competence as defined by law, to receive information constituting a trade secret. The use of such information by State authorities and administrative bodies is subject to the procedure prescribed by law and may not be disclosed. In addition, information constituting a trade secret is made available to the courts and to bodies and persons conducting initial enquiries or pretrial investigations in accordance with the procedure established by law. Also, enterprises, organisations, institutions and individual entrepreneurs are obliged to report information related to an insured event that constitutes a commercial secret at the request of insurance organisations.

Law No. 53-II provides a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets.

There is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Turkmenistan to deliver telecom services to end users, and it is not practised in both the mobile sector and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

It is reported that there is tight state control of the economy, and the government has only allowed significant foreign ownership and foreign direct investment in the energy sector. Therefore, foreign ownership in the telecom sector is restricted. In addition, Art. 16 of the Law about Communications states that government, postal and courier communications, technical means and networks of telecommunications used for defence, national security, protection of the State border and law and order, as well as technical means of national television and radio broadcasting and the enterprises ensuring their operation and development, belong exclusively to State ownership.

The government owns shares in certain telecom companies. In particular, it owns shares in Turkmentelekom TC, which is a fully state-owned enterprise; Ashgabat City Telephone Network, with a 30% participation of the Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan and 60% of Turkmentelekom; Altyn Asir CJSC (TMcell), which is fully owned by the Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan.

It is reported that government approval is necessary for acquisitions and mergers of certain enterprises, including those with state shares. In fact, in case of alienation of government shares, foreign companies may participate only with a relevant report of the Economic Risk Protection Agency under the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan (Art. 7.2 of Law about the Removal of Ownership from the State and the Privatization of State Property).

According to Art. 15 of the Law of Turkmenistan on Amendment to the Law of Turkmenistan on Enterprises, companies need to get a state registration in order to operate, including foreign investors. The foreign entities wishing to invest in Turkmenistan must register with the Registration Department under the Ministry of Finance and Economy. However, before the registration is granted, an inter-ministerial commission that includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Agency for Protection from Economic Risks, law enforcement agencies, and industry-specific ministries must approve it. According to Art. 16 of the Law, the decision on the state registration of a company must be made within two weeks after submitting the required documents.
It is also reported that the registration is lengthy and cumbersome, and it is not required for foreign companies with approved government contracts. The commission evaluates foreign companies based on their financial standing, work experience, reputation, and perceived political and legal risks. The inter-ministerial commission does not give a reason for denying the registration of a legal entity.
It is also reported that Turkmenistan generally requires that citizens of Turkmenistan make up 90% of the workforce of foreign-owned companies (i.e., for every foreign worker, nine Turkmen citizens must be hired).

Turkmenistan is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II). In fact, Turkmenistan is not a member of the WTO.

Art. 13.1 of Law No. 158-V states that in the case that in the domestic market of Turkmenistan there are enough potential suppliers, the tender organiser has the right to limit participation in tender procedures to potential suppliers of Turkmenistan or to establish priority for State enterprises and/or public organisations of disabled persons in Turkmenistan.

Art. 13.2 of Law No. 158-V provides that when the tender organiser limits participation to suppliers in Turkmenistan, it may additionally limit the list of potential suppliers to small and medium-sized businesses in Turkmenistan, and/or set conditions for the use of only local labour resources and/or raw materials and supplies.

Art. 17.6 of Law No. 158-V establishes that, unless the organiser decides to accept an additional language, applications must be submitted in Turkmen, which is the state language.