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

In Singapore, there is no specific legislation dedicated to the protection of trade secrets. Instead, trade secrets are typically safeguarded through the common law doctrine of breach of confidence, alongside intellectual property and contract law, where applicable. For information to qualify as a trade secret or confidential information, it must not be publicly accessible and must be clearly and specifically identified, as demonstrated in Nanofilm Technologies International Pte Ltd v Semivac International Pte Ltd and others [2018] SGHC 167.
Additionally, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore outlines three key considerations for determining whether a breach of confidence has occurred: (1) whether the information has the quality of confidentiality; (2) whether it was communicated under circumstances that impose an obligation of confidentiality—this obligation can exist even if the information was accessed or acquired without the company’s consent; and (3) whether the person who obtained the information can prove that they were unaware of its confidential nature or acquired it unintentionally.

It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Singapore to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), the incumbent telecommunication operator, is currently 52% government-owned.

Singapore does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, accounting separation is required in some instances (dominant licensees and their related companies).

The "Guidelines for Submission of Application for Services-Based Operations Licence" outline the procedures for obtaining the Services-Based Operations (SBO) Licence, which authorises an operator to provide services-based telecommunications services in Singapore. Generally, operators that lease international transmission capacity to deliver their services are required to obtain an SBO (Individual) Licence. According to Section 2.4 of the Guidelines, applicants seeking an SBO (Individual) Licence for prepaid services must ensure that their company possesses a minimum paid-up capital of SGD 100,000 (approx. USD 74,000).

Singapore has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Singapore is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Although Singapore is a signatory to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), its coverage schedules do not include "telecommunications-related services" (CPC 754) and do not fully cover "computer-related services" (CPC 84) and "telecommunications services" (CPC 752), which are important service sectors for digital trade.

There are no ownership restrictions for telecommunications, manufacturing of information and communication technology goods and products, computer and related services, and online broadcasting. A foreign entity may wholly own telecommunications licensees that are Singapore-incorporated companies. Licensees must be either incorporated under or, if a foreign company, registered under the Singapore Companies Act (Cap 50).

Pursuant to Section 145.1 of the Companies Act, it is a legal requirement for every company to appoint at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore.

According to Art. 10 of the Telecommunications Competition Code and pursuant to Art. 26 of the Telecommunications Act, acquisitions higher than 12% of a controller of a designated telecommunications licensee must seek prior approval from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). Likewise, in the case of acquisitions higher than 30% of the total voting shares or voting power, which results in a 30% or higher controlling stake of the designated telecommunication licensee, prior approval of the IDA is required.

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

The Copyright Act provides a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair use model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Chapter 63 outlines the exceptions, which include the use of works for research and study, criticism or review, and reporting current events in relation to various works and subject matters.