Interconnection with, and pricing to, networks are regulated under Schedule 1 of the Telecommunications Act 2001.
The 2011 amendments to the Telecommunications Act introduced information disclosure requirements for the companies building the ultrafast broadband fibre network and Chorus. The companies are required to meet annual reporting requirements, assurance requirements, certificates and statutory declarations, and data retention requirements.

Trade secrets are not statutorily protected under New Zealand civil law, but they may be protected by contract and through a common law breach of confidence action. Under Section 230 of Crimes Act 1961, misappropriation of a trade secret, with the intent to obtain a financial or economic advantage or to cause loss to another, is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. In addition, the crime of accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose to obtain property may apply to digital files, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison (Section 249).

It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in New Zealand to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

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

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

The country has a clear regime under the Copyright Act 1994 of copyright exceptions that follows 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 is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

To file a patent application in New Zealand, an address for service in New Zealand or Australia and communication address (email address) are required under the Patents Regulations 2014 (Sections 3, 34). The address for service can be a business or residential address, post office box or document exchange box located in New Zealand or Australia. Any applicant may be represented by a patent attorney authorised to practice before the Office and the address for service should normally be that of a registered patent attorney (Subpart 4).

In 2011, Chorus, a major telecommunication infrastructure company, was demerged from a network provider Spark New Zealand Limited (Spark). Chorus’s constitution provides that, without the prior written approval of the Crown under the Deed relating to certain operational and governance undertakings, no single shareholder may own more than 10 percent of the shares and no person who is not a New Zealand national may own more than 49.9 percent of the shares. It is reported that approval has been granted to two private entities to exceed the 10% threshold, increasing their interest in Chorus up to 15%. However, Spark is no longer subject to these foreign ownership restrictions as a result of the demerger.

One of the equity listing requirements in New Zealand's Exchange (NZX) is that a company must have at least two directors who are ordinarily resident in New Zealand. NZX is the only registered securities exchange in New Zealand. The rules have been updated in December 2020.

It is reported that foreign investment is potentially subject to a three-stage investment screening process.
Per Section 11 of the Overseas Investment Act of 2005, a foreign investor in a significant business asset must obtain consent. Section 13 lays out what constitutes a significant business asset (generally, an investment activity that results in a 25% or greater ownership or whose value exceeds NZD 100 million (USD 71 million)). Section 18 provides criteria for approval of investment in significant business assets (the investor test), which include the necessary business experience and financial acumen to manage the investment.
Additionally, a foreign investment can be subject to the national interest test under the Urgent Measures Act of 2020. If a transaction is contrary to national interest, consent may be declined, per Section 20C. According to Section 20A, this kind of transactions includes investment in strategically important businesses, as laid out in the Guidance Note, such as telecommunications infrastructure and media entities.
Finally, these investment activities can also be subject to 'call in transactions," under which the government may block, impose conditions on, or order disposal of the activities if they pose a threat to national security or public order (Part 3 of the Urgent Measures Act).

According to Section 10 of the Companies Act 1993 (introduced in May 2015 by the Companies Amendment Act 2015), a company incorporated in New Zealand has been 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 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 (CPC752), telecommunication-related services (CPC 754), and computer and related services (CPC 84).

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