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

Sierra Leone does not apply the de minimis rule, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties. According to Section 24 of the Customs Act, levies are charged and collected on all goods imported into the country. Also, the value of an imported good is not a criterion for exemption, according to Section 11 of the Goods and Services Tax Act. It is, however, reported that there is an informal threshold of USD 100.

The Consumer Protection Act 2020 (No. 7) and the Electronic Transactions Act 2019 (No. 11) provide a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions. Although online purchases are not explicitly mentioned in the Consumer Protection Act, the law seems to apply to the supply of all goods and services in trade or commerce in the country, according to Section 1 of the Act. On the other hand, Sections 13-21 of the Electronic Transaction Act specifically make provisions for consumer protection in electronic transactions.

Sierra Leone has signed but not ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Sierra Leone has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Sierra Leone has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

According to Section 3 of the Telecommunications Subscribers Regulations, telecommunications service providers are required to implement a system to obtain, record, and store information about their subscribers. Moreover, according to Sections 6 and 7, telecom service providers must register subscriber details before new SIM cards or other subscription services are activated. When the regulation was implemented, existing subscribers were also required to be registered by six months from the effective date of the regulation.

According to Section 41 of the Telecommunications Licensing Regulations, type-approval certification from the Commission is required before telecommunications companies can import electronic communications equipment to be used on their networks. Companies are required to comply with the Commission's regulations in this regard. Self-certification for imported goods, including ICT goods such as radio transmission, electromagnetic interference (EMI) or electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), has not been allowed since July 2009, when the requirement for destination inspection was enacted.

All imports to Sierra Leone may be inspected by the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau (SLSB), which is the authority in charge of standards, certification, and accreditation under the Standards Act of 1996. The Bureau checks the certificate of conformity and labelling requirements and may perform field tests before issuing clearance to customs for the release of the goods.
In July 2009, a pre-shipment inspection of all imports ended. From this date, all shipments into the country are subjected to a Destination Inspection System (DIS) to test and inspect the imported goods to ensure they meet national and international environmental, health and safety standards. Third-party testing results and certifications are not accepted, and government-appointed entities must do the inspection. The government-appointed companies that conduct the inspection have been changed a couple of times. Importers are responsible for payment of the inspection fee.

Section 22 of the Telecommunications Subscribers Regulations noted that subscribers' personal information may be released to law enforcement agencies with a written request from a senior officer of the security/law enforcement agency. The request has to be sent to the Commission stating the information needed and the purpose, according to Section 24. There is no specific provision that this request has to go through a judicial process.

The Electronic Transactions Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. Section 22 of the Act exempts intermediaries from the legal responsibilities and liabilities associated with any illegal and harmful activities performed by their users on their platforms or through their networks if they are unaware of these activities, do not financially benefit from the activities, and if they remove/restrict the content within a reasonable amount of time after discovering the activities.

The Electronic Transactions Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. Section 22 of the Act exempts intermediaries from the legal responsibilities and liabilities associated with any illegal and harmful activities performed by their users on their platforms or through their networks if they are unaware of these activities, do not financially benefit from the activities, and if they remove/restrict the content within a reasonable amount of time after discovering the activities.

Sierra Leone does not have a framework on trade secret protection. Some trade secrets provisions can be found in the Right to Access Information Act, which restricts a public authority from communicating information obtained from a third party where the disclosure of the information would divulge a trade secret or could prejudice the commercial interests of that third party.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Sierra Leone to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

The fixed network operator, the incumbent "Sierratel", is a state-owned monopoly. It is the only provider in the fixed landline segment of the Industry. The infrastructure loss as a result of the civil war affected the operations of the operator. It has since launched mobile telecom services, with about 3% of the market share.
Although the telecommunications sector has been liberalised, it is reported that one of the major obstacles to affordable broadband internet in Sierra Leone is the de-facto monopoly and inefficient operation of the international gateway by the state-owned Sierra Leone Cable Limited (SALCAB). The Telecommunications Act was amended in 2015 with the aim of liberalising the international gateway through a repeal and replacement of Section (33) of the 2006 Telecommunications Act to curtail the monopoly of incumbent Sierratel over the international gateway. Still, there have been delays in the liberalisation of the gateway.