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

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 a public; among others.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Kazakhstan. It is reported that foreign companies complain of inadequate IPR protection. Judges, customs officials, and police officers lack IPR expertise, which exacerbates weak IPR enforcement. In addition, it is reported that the rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 74% in 2017 (above the 57% rate of the Central and Eastern European countries), for an estimated commercial value of USD 62 million. In addition, it is reported that online piracy is still a concern, particularly through piracy devices and applications, illegal recording and unlicensed use of software.

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

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 the 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 person in the authorized body and its organizations, 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 authorized body and expert agency.

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 fiber 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.

Kazakhstan is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2016.

According to Government Resolution No. 13 dated January 2016 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 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 organization 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.

According to Art. 14 of the Law on Public Procurement, with regard to the goods originating in foreign countries and works, services, respectively performed by foreign potential suppliers, the national treatment is applied only in cases and upon conditions stipulated by international treaties ratified by Kazakhstan. The Law prescribes that the Government of Kazakhstan shall have the right to establish exemptions from the national treatment for a period not exceeding two years in order to protect the foundations of the constitutional system, ensure the country's defense and national security, protect the domestic market, develop the national economy and support domestic producers.

Art. 39.3 of the Law on Public Procurement provides that with regard to purchase of periodicals on electronic carriers as well as purchase of information provision services by international and (or) foreign information organizations can be carried out through single source method whereby the government decides on the supplier not through a tender process but an ad hoc decision. This is allowed to take place when a tender fails to lead to the conclusion of a public procurement contract. The decisions on single-sourcing are reported to be not transparent nor competitive and to provide opportunities for corruption practices where only the companies known to the contracting authorities will be the successful ones.

It is reported that there are difficulties in practice to apply to public tenders, for example due to the structure of Kazakhstan's e-procurement system. Moreover, there seems to be a general push to support local suppliers through public purchases. It is also reported that the requirement of a digital signature certificate for foreign bidders negatively affects the principle of open eligibility.

According to Art. 7.6 of the Informatization Law, the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of electronic industry orders the creation of a unified register of trusted software and electronic products. According to Art. 54.3.1, for the purposes of state security, only such approved software may be used for public procurement, as well as for critical objects of information and communication infrastructure, both state or private and including the telecommunication infrastructure.

According to Art. 7.6 of the Informatization Law, the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of electronic industry orders the creation of a unified register of trusted software and electronic products. According to Art. 54.3.1, for the purposes of state security, only such approved software may be used for public procurement, as well as for critical objects of state and private information and communication infrastructures, including telecommunication infrastructures. 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 Defense 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).

Kazakhstan is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996, but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).