SRI LANKA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ayanthi Abeyawickrama, Varners
sign used on products that have a specific geographi - cal origin and possess qualities, reputation or charac - teristics essentially attributable to that location, such as “Ceylon Tea” or “Ceylon Cinnamon”. Protection arises either through registration with NIPO or under the unfair competition provisions of the Act, even without registration, where misuse is likely to mislead the public. In addition, software and databases, when they meet the threshold of originality, are protected as literary works under copyright law. This protection arises automatically upon creation and fixation and endures for the lifetime of the author plus 70 years. This includes both source code and object code in the case of software, and original compilations of data in the case of databases. Trade secrets are protected in Sri Lanka under the concept of “undisclosed information” in the Intel - lectual Property Act, as well as through principles of unfair competition. This includes confidential business information such as formulas, recipes, customer lists, algorithms, business strategies and methods. These are not subject to registration but are protected through confidentiality obligations, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and the general principles of con - tract and delict (tort). In cases involving wilful misap - propriation or breach of trust, criminal sanctions may apply under relevant laws such as the Penal Code or the Computer Crimes Act. Effective protection of these rights depends significantly on the use of internal controls, contractual safeguards and judicial enforcement where necessary.
It sets out key principles such as lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation and accountability. It grants data subjects specific rights, including the right to access, rectify, erase and object to the processing of their personal data. Data controllers and processors are required to implement appropriate security measures, maintain records of processing activities, and in most cases obtain freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent before processing personal data. In addition to the PDPA, data protection is indirectly supported by: • the Computer Crimes Act, No 24 of 2007, which criminalises unauthorised access, data theft and related cyber-offences; and • the Electronic Transactions Act, No 19 of 2006, which recognises the legal validity of electronic records and signatures and facilitates secure data exchange. Together, these statutes represent a significant advancement in Sri Lanka’s data governance land - scape, aligning it more closely with international standards such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 8.2 Geographical Scope The PDPA has extraterritorial application and extends its scope to cover certain activities of foreign entities. Specifically, it applies to any natural or legal person, whether incorporated or operating outside Sri Lanka, who processes the personal data of individuals locat - ed in Sri Lanka, in the course of: • offering goods or services to such individuals; or • monitoring their behaviour, in so far as that behav - iour takes place within Sri Lanka. This means that foreign companies collecting, ana - lysing or storing the personal data of Sri Lankan residents, whether via websites, apps or other digital platforms, are subject to the same obligations as local data controllers and processors under the PDPA. Cross-border transfers of personal data are permitted only if the recipient country or foreign entity ensures
8. Data Protection 8.1 Applicable Regulations
Data privacy is governed and regulated by the Per - sonal Data Protection Act, No 9 of 2022 (PDPA), as amended by the Personal Data Protection (Amend - ment) Act, No 22 of 2025, which provides a compre - hensive legal framework for the processing of person - al data. The PDPA applies to both public and private sector entities, including foreign entities that process personal data in Sri Lanka or of individuals located in Sri Lanka.
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