On December 16, 2011, The Gazette, the official newspaper, published decree number 36880-COMEX-JP which limits the liability of service providers for violations of Copyright and related rights.

This regulation is the result of the Costa Rican government's commitment under the Free Trade Agreement signed by all Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, and the United States (CAFTA-DR). Chapter 15 of the Treaty creates a commitment to establish limitations on the liability of service providers for infringement of copyright and related rights.

The regulation establishes the rules under which the suppliers of those services will be exempted from liability for any copyright and related violations not in their control, which have not been initiated or directed by them, and which take place through systems or networks controlled or operated by them. As well as promoting action against such infringements, suppliers must comply with the prescribed requirements under the Agreement.

The main objective is to encourage collaboration between service providers and copyright and related rights holders to address situations involving abuse, storage, and unauthorized transmission of copyrighted materials.

To obtain the benefits of the regulation, service providers must establish and implement policies which establish the causes for which they would terminate the accounts or contract of those users classified as repeat offenders of the rights protected by the Law on Copyright and related rights. Providers must also adopt and not interfere with effective technological measures to manage copyright and related rights generally used to protect these rights, provided they are available on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. Likewise, their adoption must not impose substantial costs on service providers or substantial burdens on their systems or networks. Specific conditions are established for connection service providers, storage and hosting, and fixed non-criminal penalties for violators including disconnection and cancellation of accounts.