It is reported that Kazakhstan has no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the country to deliver telecom services to end users, and it is not practised in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

According to Government Resolution No. 13 on Certain Matters Pertaining to the Implementation of State Support of Investments, production of digital goods such as computers, electronic and optical products is identified as a priority area for implementation of foreign investment projects, among others and are therefore subject to investment preferences. However, certain restrictions still exist in sectors related to the digital economy. For instance, in accordance with Art. 5 of the Law on Mass Media, foreigners and foreign legal entities, as well as stateless persons, cannot directly and (or) indirectly own, use, dispose and (or) manage more than 20% of the shares of a legal entity which is the owner of a mass media organisation in Kazakhstan or carries out activities in this area, including online mass media. This requirement does not apply to internet resources intended for electronic commerce.

In 2016, the country formally removed a 49% limit on foreign ownership of telecom companies, except for KazakhTeleCom. As of April 2024, the state-owned 71.3% of Kazakhtelecom through Samruk-Kazyna, its sovereign wealth fund.

According to Art. 23.6.7 of the Law on National Security, it shall be prohibited that foreigners, stateless persons, and foreign legal entities to directly and (or) indirectly own, use, dispose of and (or) manage cumulatively in excess of 49% of the voting shares, as well as stakes, units of a legal entity engaged in telecommunications as a long-distance and (or) international telecommunications operator, possessing land (cable, including fibre optic, radio relay) communication lines with no positive decision of the Government of Kazakhstan based on the opinion of the authorised body regulating the field of communications, agreed with the national security agencies. It is reported that, in practice, foreign investors must obtain a government waiver for the acquisition of more than 49% of shares in a company providing telecommunication services.

In accordance with subparagraph 4-1 of Art. 7 of Law No. 544, the Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan ordered the approval of the Rules of Domestic Trade (Order No. 264). Arts. 105-1 and 106-1 of the Rules mandate e-commerce sellers to indicate their BIN (business identification number), address of business operations on the territory of Kazakhstan and mobile telephone number registered in Kazakhstan in order to operate in the country. Additional information on this requirement is found in Annex 3-10 of Order No. 4.

According to Art. 38 of the Patent law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, foreign individuals, foreign legal entities and stateless persons residing in the Republic of Kazakhstan enjoy the same rights as Kazakhstani citizens. However, under Article 36.5 of the Patent Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, natural persons residing outside the Republic of Kazakhstan or foreign legal entities shall exercise their rights as patent applicants and patentees, as well as the rights of interested persons in the authorised body and its organisations, through local patent attorneys. Pursuant to Art. 1 of the Law, patent agents are citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan who, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, have the right to represent natural and legal persons before the authorised body and expert agency.

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

Kazakhstan has a copyright regime under Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 6-I of June 10, 1996, on Copyright and Related Rights. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 18-27 list the exceptions, which include the quotation, in the original language or in translation, for scientific or for research, polemic, critical or informational purposes and to the extent justified by the intended purpose; the reproduction, broadcasting or communication to the public by cable of architectural works, photographic works or works of fine art permanently located in public; among others.

Copyright is not adequately enforced on the Internet in Kazakhstan. It is reported that foreign companies complain about inadequate IPR protection and that there is a high level of pirated software used in the country. Judges, customs officials and police officers lack IPR expertise, exacerbating weak IPR enforcement. In addition, online piracy is reported to remain a concern, particularly through piracy devices and applications, illegal recording, and the use of unlicensed software.

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

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

According to Art. 7.6 of the Informatization Law, the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of electronic industry is tasked with establishing a unified register of trusted software and electronic products. According to Art. 54.3.1, for the purposes of state security, only approved software may be used for public procurement and for critical information and communication infrastructure, whether state-owned or private, including telecommunication infrastructure. To become part of the register, the software applicant must transfer (i) source program codes for accounting and storage; (ii) source program codes (if any) and; (iii) a set of configurations for the licensed software of "e-government" information technology objects, as stated paragraphs 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Order of the Minister of defence and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 53/НК (Rules for the formation and maintenance of a register of trusted products of the electronics and software industry, as well as the criteria for including products of the electronics industry and trusted software in the register of trusted products of the electronics and software industry). In addition, it is reported that the local content for this software must not be less than 70%.

The Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Enterprise Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provide a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets. According to Art. 126.1 and 1017.1 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a trade secret comprises valuable information, including secrets of production (know-how), production technology, management model, as well as ways and methods of increasing profits. In addition, according to Art. 28 of the Enterprise Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, among other provisions, the protection of trade secrets consists of prohibiting the unlawful receipt, distribution or use of information constituting a trade secret in accordance with this Code and the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This regulatory framework includes remedies and penalties for the disclosure of trade secrets.

According to Art. 14 of the Law on Public Procurement, national treatment for goods originating from foreign countries, as well as works and services performed by foreign suppliers, is applied only under the conditions specified in international treaties ratified by Kazakhstan. The Law also grants the Government of Kazakhstan the right to establish exemptions from national treatment for up to two years to protect the constitutional order, ensure national defence and security, safeguard the domestic market, promote economic development, and support domestic producers.

Art. 39.3 of the Law on Public Procurement states that the purchase of periodicals on electronic carriers and information provision services from international and/or foreign information organisations may be conducted through a single-source method. In this case, the government selects the supplier through an ad hoc decision rather than a tender process. This approach is permitted when a tender fails to result in the conclusion of a public procurement contract. However, decisions regarding single sourcing are reported to lack transparency and competitiveness, creating opportunities for corrupt practices where only companies familiar to the contracting authorities succeed.