Trade secrets are not protected under a dedicated statutory civil regime in New Zealand, but they may be protected through contractual arrangements and common law actions for breach of confidence. Under Section 230 of the Crimes Act 1961, the misappropriation of a trade secret, with intent to obtain a financial or economic advantage or to cause loss to another person, constitutes a criminal offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. In addition, Section 249 criminalises accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose to obtain property, which may apply to digital files and is punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Confidential commercial information held by public authorities may also be protected from disclosure under the Official Information Act 1982, including where disclosure would reveal trade secrets or prejudice commercial interests.

New Zealand is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

In March 2023, New Zealand's Parliamentary Service announced a ban on TikTok across all devices connected to the parliamentary network, citing cybersecurity concerns. The decision followed internal analysis and consultations with both domestic and international partners, which concluded that the app posed security risks within the parliamentary environment. The ban affects around 500 individuals, though exemptions may be granted for those who require the app for official functions. This measure aligns New Zealand with other Western nations that have implemented similar restrictions on TikTok due to data security concerns.

Under Rule 8 of the Government Procurement Rules (5th edition), public agencies evaluating goods and services procurements above NZD 100,000 (approx. USD 59,000) must reserve at least 10% of the evaluation score for benefits to the New Zealand economy. These benefits may include using New Zealand workers, businesses, SMEs, regional suppliers, subcontractors, or supply chains, or contributing to the development of New Zealand industry capability. For procurements below this threshold, agencies are generally expected to award contracts to capable New Zealand businesses, unless there is a good reason not to. For this rule, New Zealand businesses include Australian businesses.

New Zealand is a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), and its commitments also cover the services sectors considered most important for digital trade, namely telecommunication services (CPC 752), telecommunication-related services (CPC 754), and computer and related services (CPC 84).

There are no foreign ownership limitations in sectors relevant to digital trade.

According to Section 10 of the Companies Act 1993 (introduced in May 2015 by the Companies Amendment Act 2015), any company incorporated in New Zealand is required to have at least one director living in New Zealand or living in an 'enforcement country' and is a director of a company that is registered in that enforcement country. Per Section 12 of the Companies Act Regulations 1994, the only enforcement country currently named in the regulations is Australia. The residency requirement does not apply to a branch of an overseas company registered in New Zealand that merely "carries on business" in New Zealand, as defined in Section 332 of the Companies Act.

New Zealand applies foreign investment screening under the Overseas Investment Act 2005. Under Arts. 10 and 11: overseas investors must obtain consent before making investments in sensitive New Zealand assets, including significant business assets. Under Art. 13, an overseas investment in significant business assets includes the acquisition of rights or interests in securities where the overseas person obtains more than 25% ownership or control, or increases an existing interest above that threshold, and where the value of the securities, consideration, or relevant assets exceeds NZD 100,000 (approx. USD 59,000), unless an alternative monetary threshold applies. Under Arts. 18 and 18A, consent for significant business assets requires satisfaction of the investor test, which assesses whether the investor is unsuitable to own or control sensitive New Zealand assets based on character and capability factors.
The regime was amended by the Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Amendment Act 2020, which introduced the national interest framework under Arts. 20A–20C and the national security and public order call-in regime under Part 3. Accordingly, transactions involving non-New Zealand government investors or strategically important businesses, including telecommunications infrastructure, media businesses, military or dual-use technology, critical direct suppliers, and certain financial infrastructure, may be reviewed, and consent may be declined where the transaction is contrary to New Zealand’s national interest. In addition, call-in transactions involving strategically important business assets may be blocked, made subject to conditions, or unwound where they pose significant national security or public order risks.
In addition, in December 2025, New Zealand enacted the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2025, which further amended the Overseas Investment Act 2005 by consolidating the national interest, benefit to New Zealand, and investor tests into a single national interest-based pathway. It also requires the regulator to grant consent within 15 working days, unless national-interest risks are identified.

New Zealand maintains specific limitations on foreign investment in key state-owned companies, including the telecommunications sector. In 2011, Chorus, a major telecommunications infrastructure company, was demerged from Spark New Zealand Limited (Spark), a network provider. Chorus’s constitution states that foreign investments exceeding 49.9% in national telecommunication companies require approval.

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

The country has a clear regime under the Copyright Act 1994 of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Sections 40-92 list the exceptions which include the use for purposes of criticism, review and news reporting (Section 42), the purposes of research or private study (Section 43), educational purposes (Sections 44 to 48), copying by librarians or archivists (Sections 51 to 56), public administration (Sections 58-66), literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic works (Sections 67 to 78), computer programs, sound recordings, and films (Sections 79 to 81A), communication works (Sections 82 to 91), and adaptations (Sections 92-93).

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

New Zealand has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.