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

There is a limitation on foreign equity participation in the government‑controlled telecommunications company Entel, which was nationalised by Supreme Decree No. 29544. Art. 19 of Law No. 516 stipulates that the assets and investments recovered through nationalisation processes undertaken by the State for the recovery of natural resources and strategic sectors may not, under any circumstances, be privatised in any form.

According to the Art. 416 of the Commercial Code, in order for a foreign company to operate in Bolivia, it must be registered in the Commercial Registry by establishing either a branch or a permanent representation with a domicile within the territory of the Republic.

It is reported that effective protection of patents is limited by reliance on a century-old industrial law, namely the Law of 2 December 1916.

Bolivia is not a signatory of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Bolivia has a copyright regime under the Law No. 1322. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 24 lists the exceptions, which include citation of an author as long as it is for teaching or research purposes, in accordance with honest uses, to the extent justified by the purpose pursued and not abusive. Furthermore, Bolivia is a member of the Andean Community of Nations and is subject to Decision 351, issued in 1993. Art. 22 of the Decision sets forth a list of mandatory exceptions in the internal market but also allows the adoption of additional exceptions in the domestic law of members, as long as they comply with the international standards of the so-called three-step test.

It is reported that the incidence of video, music, literature, and software piracy is among the highest in Latin America.

Bolivia has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

Bolivia has signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty in December 1996, but has not ratified it.

Art. 29 of Supreme Decree No. 0181 provides that the procurement of goods shall be oriented towards favouring national production. If a good required by a public entity is not available in the designated electronic catalogue of nationally produced goods, the entity shall undertake the procurement process pursuant to the rules set out in the Decree. Likewise, where an item appearing in the electronic catalogue does not satisfy the specifications or conditions required by the public entity, the entity may rely on the procurement procedures authorised by the Decree.

Bolivia lacks a comprehensive regime for the protection of trade secrets.

Art. 59 of Supreme Decree No. 0181 stipulates that the public tender procedure is the mechanism applicable to the procurement of goods and services when the estimated value exceeds BOB 1,000,000 (approx. USD 145,000), thereby allowing the participation of an indeterminate number of bidders only above this threshold. Art. 60 further provides that this procedure may take the form of a national public call for contracts up to BOB 70,000,000 (approx. USD 10,000,000), or an international public call for contracts that exceed this value. In addition, when the nature of the procurement requires international dissemination of the call for tenders for contracts below BOB 70,000,000, an international public call may nevertheless be issued, provided that the procedure is adapted to the requirements applicable to that modality.

According to Art. 21 of the General Telecommunications, Information and Communication Technologies Law, there is a passive infrastructure sharing obligation both in the fixed and mobile sectors.

Art. 77 of Law No. 164 stipulates that the executive, legislative, judicial, and electoral branches, at all levels, shall promote and prioritise the use of free software and open standards within the framework of national sovereignty and security. The executive branch at the central level of the state shall prepare the implementation plan for free software and open standards, in coordination with the other branches of the state and the entities of public administration.

There is a limitation on foreign equity participation in the government‑controlled telecommunications company Entel, which was nationalised by Supreme Decree No. 29544. Art. 19 of Law No. 516 stipulates that the assets and investments recovered through nationalisation processes undertaken by the State for the recovery of natural resources and strategic sectors may not, under any circumstances, be privatised in any form.