Hong Kong has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

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

Hong Kong lacks a comprehensive framework for the protection of trade secrets. However, confidential information, including trade secrets, is protected by the common law of confidence, as well as under express and implied terms of contract. While there is no single definition of a trade secret in Hong Kong, the characteristics of a trade secret were summarised in the 2003 case of AXA China Region Insurance Co Ltd v. Pacific Century Insurance Co Ltd, namely that a trade secret or its equivalent must be information which: is used in a trade or business; is confidential, i.e. is not already in the public domain; can be easily isolated from other information which an employee is free to use; if disclosed to a competitor, would be liable to cause real or significant harm to the owner; and is restricted from dissemination by the owner of the information. In the case of infringement, court orders may include (i) a declaration as to the confidentiality and the (lack of) entitlement to the use of the information; (ii) an injunction to restrain the use or further use of the confidential information; (iii) disclosure of any infringing use made of the information; and (iv) delivery of any infringing materials damages or, at the Plaintiff’s election, an account of profits.

There is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Hong Kong to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

Hong Kong does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, it is reported that major fixed carriers and mobile carriers are subject to accounting separation requirements to assist the Authority in monitoring developments in the telecommunications industry in general. It is also reported that the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) requires a dominant operator to maintain and report accounts for different service segments of its licensed operations, while non-dominant operators are required to maintain and report accounts for their overall licensed operations only.

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

It is reported that despite the absence of formal barriers to non-local tendering in procurement regulations in Hong Kong, the country employs a contractor management system to facilitate the selection of reliable and capable contractors. These contractors should be familiar with local regulations and practices for certain procurement types. As a result, foreign contractors may encounter restrictions on both the number and value of public works contracts they are able to obtain. Reports indicate that, during the period from 2018 to 2021, a substantial majority of such contracts were awarded to suppliers based in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), and its commitments also cover the services sectors considered most important for digital trade, namely telecommunication services (CPC 752), telecommunication-related services (CPC 754), and computer and related services (CPC 84).

According to the Communications Authority Ordinance and the Companies Ordinance, there are no ownership restrictions for telecommunications, manufacturing of information and communication technology goods and products, computer and related services, and online broadcasting. In addition, it is reported that there are no foreign ownership limitations in the telecom sector.

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

China's first comprehensive legislation regulating e-commerce came into effect in January 2019. According to Art. 9, the law applies to all "e-commerce operators," including all individuals and legal entities selling goods and/or providing services on the Internet or other information networks. This includes operators of e-commerce platforms, sellers of goods and services on the e-commerce platforms of others, and those who operate their own websites or through other network services. The law is reported to extend to non-traditional shopping channels, including social media and messaging services, such as WeChat, and streaming sites, such as Douyin. According to Arts. 10-14, all e-commerce operators are obliged to obtain business licenses, register with the tax authorities, and ensure that information on their business and administrative licenses related to their business services is displayed online in a readable form at all times.

In 2012, a WTO dispute was initiated concerning China's rules governing access to its domestic electronic payments market, which were deemed to unfairly disadvantage foreign credit and debit card issuers. While China stated that it would evaluate the ruling, it has been slow to revise its market-access regulations. Currently, China UnionPay Co. holds a near monopoly on processing yuan-denominated payments, bolstered by its close ties with the Central Bank, which has acted against emerging competitors in a manner that appears to favour UnionPay.
In 2020, Mastercard received approval from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) to begin preparations for establishing a bank card clearing institution in the country, including a joint venture with NetsUnion Clearing Corp., an online payment clearing house with PBOC stakeholders. Similarly, American Express secured preliminary approval in 2018 to undertake clearing services for credit card payments in China, with its application to process domestic payments through a joint venture with LianLian Group accepted in January 2020.
These approvals were part of the US-China phase one trade deal initiated in January 2020, which required Beijing to process applications from payment firms in a timely manner. Specifically, applications to become bank card clearing houses had to be accepted within five business days, with a response required within 90 days. However, this deal expired in December 2021, leaving the future of foreign payment processors in China uncertain.
Despite this situation, in July 2023, Alipay, China’s largest payment app operated by Ant Group, announced that foreign users can now link cards issued by Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, and Discover to their digital wallets.

According to Art. 45 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Duties (中华人民共和国进出口关税条例), goods within a single consignment, for which the estimated duties do not exceed 50 Yuan (approx. USD 7.5) shall be exempt from duties. In addition, it is reported that China Customs also applies a dedicated e-commerce clearance channel with a goods value de minimis of 5,000 RMB (approx. 700 USD), subject to meeting certain conditions, such as prior carrier and platform registration. Use of this channel is limited to an annual cap of RMB 26,000 (approx. USD 3,600).