Weak enforcement of existing legislation is reported to exacerbate challenges such as intellectual property theft, thereby undermining confidence in the digital ecosystem. In Laos, intellectual property protection remains at a nascent stage of development, with no recorded instances to date of successful enforcement actions against operators engaged in digital piracy. Rights holders continue to identify concerns relating to entities based in Laos that distribute pirated content both domestically and to neighbouring territories. The most prominent example is reported to be LaoSAT, a government-affiliated entity, which is said to continue broadcasting unauthorised content from various rights holders, primarily via satellite transmission.

Laos has not adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Laos has not adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Laos does not possess a comprehensive legal framework to ensure the effective protection of trade secrets, though certain measures exist to address related issues. Art. 53 of Law No. 50/NA of 20 November 2023 on Intellectual Property (ກົດ​ໝາຍ​ວ່າ​ດ້ວຍ ຊັບ​ສິນ​ທາງ​ປັນ​ຍາ, ເລກທີ 50/ສພຊ, ລົງວັນທີ 20 ພະຈິກ 2023), defines the rights of trade secret proprietors. According to Art. 20, a trade secret is characterised as "secret information which cannot be disclosed regarding a formula, production process, or any information that has commercial value by virtue of not being known among or readily accessible to individuals within the circles that normally deal with the type of information in question." This legislation came into force in January 2024, superseding Law No. 38/NA of 15 November 2017 on Intellectual Property (ກົດ​ໝາຍ​ວ່າ​ດ້ວຍ ຊັບ​ສິນ​ທາງ​ປັນ​ຍາ, ເລກທີ່ 38/NA ຂອງວັນທີ 15 ເດືອນພະຈິກປີ 2017), which included similar provisions in Arts. 20 and 61.
It has been reported that the absence of a dedicated legal framework for the protection and enforcement of trade secrets poses considerable challenges, particularly for foreign entities operating within Laos.

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

It is reported that the government holds equity stakes in several telecommunications companies. Notably, Lao Telecommunications Public Company (Lao Telecom) operates as a joint venture in which the Lao Government holds a 51% shareholding, and T-PLUS (formerly Beeline) is wholly owned by Lao Telecom. In addition, the Lao Government holds a 49% stake in ETL Company Limited and a 51% stake in Star Telecommunication Company (Unitel). Sky Telecom State Company is entirely government-owned and operates under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Defence, while Best Telecom Company Limited is partially owned by Sky Telecom State Company.

Art. 45 of Law No. 30/NA provides that contractors, suppliers or consultants meeting all conditions must be given domestic preference and considered to be awarded the contracts. Clause 14 of Instruction No. 0477/MOF clarifies that domestic preference should apply for international open bidding (international competitive bidding) only, and such given domestic preference must be stipulated in the bidding documents through the following conditions:
- For works and/or maintenance: if a local bidder’s bid price does not exceed 7.5% of an international bidders bid price, the local bidder must be considered as the winning bidder for works and/or maintenance.
- Supply of goods: if, as a result of a comparison, the lowest evaluated bid is a bid from Group C (bids offering goods manufactured abroad and will be directly imported), all bids from Group C must be further compared with the lowest evaluated bid from Group A (bids offering domestically manufactured goods) after adding to the evaluated price of goods offered in each bid from Group C, for the purpose of this further comparison only, an amount not to exceed 15% of the respective bid price. The lowest evaluated price from the final comparison must be selected for the award.

Procurement procedures in Laos are reported to lack transparency. With limited exceptions, government acquisitions are generally neither publicly advertised in advance nor conducted through open bidding processes. Nevertheless, there are indications that niche opportunities exist for direct private sales to governmental entities, as evidenced by past transactions in sectors such as telecommunications. Although the government has issued directives ostensibly mandating open and competitive tendering for all publicly financed procurement and projects, these requirements are not consistently implemented in practice.

Laos is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), nor does it have observer status.

Art. 9 of Decree No. 296/GOV stipulates that foreign shareholders are prohibited from holding more than 90% of the shares of the legal entity operating an electronic marketplace.

According to Art. 9 of Decree No. 296/GOV, foreign investment in e-commerce requires a minimum registered capital of LAK 10 billion (approx. USD 1 million) and is subject to a maximum limit of 90% of the entity’s shares.

Under Art. 4 of the Law on Investment Promotion, foreign investors may engage in any sector or business except those that the government deems detrimental to national security. Art. 34 specifies that the "Controlled Business List" includes activities that could impact national security, public order, cultural traditions, the environment, society, or nature. Furthermore, Art. 41 defines concession businesses as investments authorised by the government to develop and operate specific projects, including land concessions, special economic zones, export-oriented industrial processing zones, and telecommunications.
The Decree on the Endorsement of the Controlled Business List and the Concession List of Lao PDR details the sectors included in these lists and outlines the investment procedures, classifying the telecom sector as a concession business. Although the Controlled Business List does not currently include sectors relevant to digital trade, Art. 5 of the Decree allows the government to propose updates—improvements, additions, or reductions—of business activities under the Controlled and Concession Lists as needed.
Art. 3 of the Decree requires both domestic and foreign entities seeking to invest in concession-listed activities in Lao PDR to submit their applications to the One-Stop Service Office at either the central or provincial level. The office will review the application and forward it to the Investment Promotion and Supervision Committee. This review process must be completed within 65 days from the date on which the One-Stop Service Office receives all required documents.

Art. 39 of the Law on Business Competition establishes a general mergers and acquisitions review regime. However, this regime has never been used to block investment in sectors relevant to the digital economy.

According to Art. 21 of the Law on Intellectual Property, a patent or petty patent shall be refused, in any case, if it is contrary to the culture and fine traditions of the nation, social orders and morale, and security and peace of the Lao PDR. Pursuant to Art. 27, any domestic or foreign individuals, legal entities or organisations may apply for registration of their industrial property with the Ministry of Technology and Science or with an international intellectual property registration organisation to which the Lao PDR is a party. However, any individual, legal entity or organisation residing in a foreign country wishing to apply for industrial property registration shall have a business premise or an authorised representative in the Lao PDR to be able to apply. The applicant without a business premise or residence in the Lao PDR shall appoint an authorised representative to carry out transactions related to intellectual property in the Lao PDR.

Laos is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). However, the country does not consider itself bound by Art. 59 related to disputes.