New version of the IP–Services Toolkit is available

Susy Frankel FRSNZ, Nikita Melashchenko · NZCIEL · (3 June 2026) · tool · source ↗︎

We have released a new version of the IP–Services Toolkit, freely available at ipservices.nz.

The toolkit is an interactive map of connections between intellectual property rights and services sectors in international trade regulation. It addresses a gap in free trade agreements, where separate services and IP chapters are rarely read together — despite the fact that many service providers depend on IP rights for their innovative delivery mechanisms, and IP rights holders often function as service providers themselves.

This new version migrates the project to Observable Framework with enhanced interactive visualisations, including maps, dashboards and network graphs exploring IP–services linkages across sectors. The update also integrates project data with the Stats NZ IP strategies dataset and includes a finalised accompanying research report.

The toolkit includes four case studies examining computer and software services, audiovisual and streaming services, tourism and human health services. These demonstrate how IP protections and service liberalisation create trade tensions and cross-sectoral dependencies that are often overlooked in negotiations.

The toolkit was prepared by the New Zealand Centre for Intellectual Property and Trade (NZCIEL) for the New Zealand Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (NZPECC).

More information about the toolkit is available on the NZCIEL toolkits and reports page.