According to the Investment Charter of 2001 in CAR, any natural or legal person, Central African or foreign, regardless of their place of residence, may undertake and freely carry out economic activities in CAR, subject to specific provisions aimed at protecting the environment, health and public hygiene. In this regard, no discrimination can take place between natural or legal persons of Central African nationality and those of foreign nationalities, subject to measures relating to all foreign nationals and the application of the same principle of equal treatment by the State of which the foreign natural or legal person is a national (Art. 9).

According to Art. 103 of the Revised Uniform Act relating to the Law of Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) applied by the CAR, the founders of companies must be domiciled in one of the States Parties. OHADA includes 17 countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Art. 4 of Law No. 16-006 on the Commercial Code in the CAR, any commercial company with foreign capital should have prior approval unless its head office is established in the CAR and at least 51% of the capital is effectively or indirectly held by natural persons of Central African nationality. Art. 17 stipulates that if the planned activity is subject to specific regulations, authorisation can only be given after a favourable technical opinion from the Ministry responsible for the activity.

According to the Revised Uniform Act on the Law of Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups, adopted by the organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) and directly applicable and binding in the Central African Republic, the amount of the share capital is freely determined by the partners. However, the Uniform Act sets a minimum share capital of 10,000,000 CFA Francs (approx. USD 16,800) for certain companies (Arts. 65 and 387).

According to the Bangui Agreement, ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including the Central African Republic, applicants resident outside the territory of the Member States must file through an agent selected in one of those Member States (Section III, Art. 8). The professional status of agent accredited to the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) is governed by the Regulations on the Profession of Authorised Agent before the OAPI.

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

The Revised Bangui Agreement is a regional intellectual property law that is not only a regional convention applicable in all member states but also serves as a national intellectual property law in the Central African Republic and each of the other member states. The Revised Bangui Agreement contains provisions on copyright in Annex VII: Chapter IV (Limitations to Economic Rights) and establishes a regime of copyright exceptions. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. In addition, Chapter II of Ordinance No. 85.002 also provides for limitations on copyright.

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

It has been reported that the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) imposes quotas that determine both the minimum Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) and the minimum amount of Canadian programming that licensed Canadian broadcasters must carry (Exhibition Quota). Regarding the latter, the current primetime (6-11pm) Exhibition Quota rests at 50% Canadian content.
For cable television and direct-to-home broadcast services, more than 50% of the channels received by subscribers must be Canadian channels. Non-Canadian channels must be pre-approved (“listed”) by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Upon an appeal from a Canadian licensee, the CRTC may determine that a non-Canadian channel competes with a Canadian pay or specialty service, in which case the CRTC may either remove the non-Canadian channel from the list (thereby revoking approval to supply the service) or shift the channel into a less competitive location on the channel dial. Alternatively, non-Canadian channels can become Canadian by ceding majority equity control to a Canadian partner, as some U.S. channels have done.
The CRTC also requires that 35% of popular musical selections broadcast on the radio qualify as “Canadian” under a Canadian Government-determined point system.
The CRTC’s Wholesale Code entered into force in January 2016 and governs certain commercial arrangements between distributors (e.g., cable companies) and programmers (e.g., channel owners). The Code is binding for vertically integrated suppliers in Canada (i.e., suppliers that own infrastructure and programming) and applies as guidelines to foreign programming suppliers (who by definition cannot be vertically integrated, as foreign suppliers are prohibited from owning video distribution infrastructure in Canada).

In April 2023, the Canadian Government passed the Online Streaming Act, directing the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to develop a new framework for financial contributions and obligations on streaming platforms to support and promote Canadian programming. Under Section 4 of the Order Issuing Directions to the CRTC (Sustainable and Equitable Broadcasting Regulatory Framework), the CRTC must enforce requirements ensuring the Canadian broadcasting system robustly supports a diverse range of Canadian programming and creators. These directions mandate that both financial and non-financial obligations be fair, considering the size and nature of each undertaking and balanced between online foreign platforms and Canadian broadcasters. However, it is reported that the specific requirements to support the production of Canadian content are to be determined by the CRTC, which has been conducting several rounds of consultations with stakeholders, including foreign streamers and Canadian broadcasters.

Section 3.06 of the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations prohibits the export of certain goods and technologies to Russia, as specified in the Restricted Goods and Technologies List. This list encompasses a wide array of items, including electronics, computing, telecommunications, sensors, and lasers.

Self-certification is permitted for radio transmission, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Foreign companies are authorised to self-certify compliance with these standards through a Supplier Declaration of Conformity (SDoC). The registration of the equipment with the regulatory authority is not required, nor is testing by an accredited laboratory mandatory. In cases where testing is conducted, the selection of the testing laboratory is at the discretion of the supplier or manufacturer.

According to the Postal Imports Remission Order, the importation of goods whose total value does not exceed the threshold of CAN 20 (approx. USD 15), with the exception of tobacco, books, periodicals, magazines, and alcoholic beverages, are exempt from import duties. This threshold is lower than the USD 200 threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Parties wishing to obtain a ".ca" domain name need to satisfy the Canadian Internet Registration Authority's Canadian Presence Requirements, which reserves ".ca" domain names for Canadian citizens, permanent residents, companies incorporated in a Canadian jurisdiction, partnerships registered in Canada, and entities with Canadian trademarks. Domain names can be licensed to the registrant either through a stand-alone licence agreement or as part of a larger transaction.

The law Competition Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-34) and the Anti-Spam Law provide a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions.