Law No. 4868 on Electronic Commerce establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 11 of Law No. 4868, if the service receiver provides the data, the intermediary service provider shall not be responsible for the information transmitted under several circumstances, including when providers or data do not initiate the transmission is not changed by providers. Art. 16 requests all providers to establish a mechanism to remove content that violates copyright and related rights and industrial property laws from the network. This mechanism must be public and accessible to any user.

Law No. 4868 on Electronic Commerce establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Art. 11 of Law No. 4868, if the service receiver provides the data, the intermediary service provider shall not be responsible for the information transmitted under several circumstances, including when providers or data do not initiate the transmission is not changed by providers. Art. 16 requests all providers to establish a mechanism to remove content that violates copyright and related rights and industrial property laws from the network. This mechanism must be public and accessible to any user.

According to Art. 4 of the National Telecommunications Commission's (CONATEL) Resolution No. 656/2008, the activation of a Mobile Telephony Service line requires the Sales Agent to implement procedures for identifying and registering the User. For natural persons, this involves presenting a copy of their identity document. Users who fail to provide the necessary documentation or meet the requirements specified in Art. 5 will be unable to activate a Mobile Telephony Service line. According to Art. 5, a Mobile Telecommunications Service Provider must maintain a record of its activated lines, which includes information such as an ID Document, the electronic serial number of the terminal (ESN) and/or the SIM card, if applicable, among others.

According to Art. 3 of Law No. 5653, any Internet service providers shall develop and offer free software to detect, filter, classify, delete and block harmful information, and they shall provide clients with such software and its teaching manual, which explains how to install and use it.

According to Arts. 3-7 of Decree No. 6832/2017, a prior import licence is required for the importation of mobile telephone devices, including mobile phones (other than satellite phones), laptops, parts and accessories for mobile phones, and mobile phone motherboards.

Law No. 642 regulates the concession, license or authorisation to provide telecommunication services. According to Art. 70 of the Law No. 642 and Art. 67 of the Decree No. 14135, concessions, licences and authorisations are subject to the payment of a concession fee, which must be paid within 60 days of their grant or renewal, on a one-off basis for each period. In order to sign the concession contract, the concessionaire must provide proof of prior payment of the concession fee, whose amount is established in the CONATEL Board Resolution No. 3523/2024 on the Procedure for Determining the Minimum Amount Payable as Licence, Authorisation, Licence Extension and Licence Renewal Fees under the Demand-Driven Regime Moreover, there is an annual fee for the commercial exploitation of the services, which can be up to 1% of the provider’s gross income. It is also reported that there is a minimum capital requirement to obtain a licence.

Paraguay has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

According to Law No. 642 of Telecommunications, the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

It is reported that, although shareholders of Paraguayan companies may be natural or legal persons regardless of their residence status, directors, managers and legal representatives must be Paraguayan citizens or foreigners with valid residence permits in Paraguay.

According to Art. 8 of Decree No. 14201/2001, which regulates Law No. 1630/2000 on Patents, a patent application must include, inter alia, the name and address of the acting Industrial Property Agent together with their registration number, as well as a simple copy of the power of attorney or instruction document. According to the official website of the National Intellectual Property Directorate (DINAPI), representation by an Industrial Property Agent is mandatory for filing patent applications, and one of the requirements to act as such an agent is to be a lawyer duly registered with the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay.

According to Art. 60 of the Patent Law, all proceedings before the Industrial Property Directorate must be conducted through an Industrial Property Agent registered with the Directorate and domiciled in the capital. According to the official website of the National Intellectual Property Directorate (DINAPI), one of the requirements for acting as an Industrial Property Agent is to be a lawyer duly registered with the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay.

Paraguay is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Paraguay has a copyright regime under the Law No. 1328. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 38-46 list exceptions, including reproduction by reprographic means for teaching or examination purposes in educational institutions and reproduction of a work for judicial or administrative proceedings, provided such reproduction is justified by the intended purpose, among others.

It is reported that online copyright enforcement in Paraguay remains inadequate, with persistent challenges related to effective and consistent prosecutions and judicial actions. Paraguay’s National Directorate of Intellectual Property (DINAPI) has publicly identified audiovisual piracy as a major enforcement and market problem, noting that the illegal retransmission of football matches and other protected audiovisual content is estimated to generate losses of around USD 100 million per year.

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