Intellectual property rights (IPR) regulation in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) has often been controversial. The increased appetite to strengthen multilateral standards for protection, as well as, in some cases, to expand the subject matter of IPR protection, often serving commercial interests, has been seen as conflicting with larger public interests. When faced with twenty-first century challenges, such as the digital revolution, climate change, or pandemics, the international IPR framework needs to adapt to reconcile with contemporary commercial, political, and public interests.

In this chapter, we discuss how the future design of PTAs can contribute towards this objective. First, we introduce the current international IPR framework and trace the main trade-offs for policymaking in this area, including those particular to PTAs. We emphasise the need for a balanced approach for IPR negotiation and protection in PTAs. Second, we discuss the role of trade secrets in the context of the digital economy, technology transfer in the context of climate change, and, lastly, the role of private–public partnerships in providing equitable access to medicines.

The procedural rules on dispute settlement are primarily contained in Part XV UNCLOS. These rules set out the conditions for UNCLOS tribunals to establish and exercise their compulsory jurisdiction hear contentious disputes. In addition to disputes between States, UNCLOS also grants the Seabed Disputes Chamber advisory jurisdiction pursuant to Article 191 UNCLOS. ITLOS as a full tribunal, however, has also found that it may exercise advisory jurisdiction despite the absence of an explicit provision to that effect under UNCLOS and the ITLOS Statute. This Chapter critically examines UNCLOS tribunals’ decisions relating the conditions for the establishment of compulsory jurisdiction in contentious proceedings under Part XV and the establishment of advisory jurisdiction of both the SDC and ITLOS as a full tribunal, in order to determine the extent to which UNCLOS tribunals have clarified the procedural law under the Convention.

The first and second of these are certainly worth celebrating in their own right as significant milestones in the development of public international law generally, but it is the third – national treatment – which is the starting point for the subject of the present paper, namely a consideration of the provisions made for limitations and exceptions to copyright protection under the international agreements.

With the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (hereinafter “Marrakesh Treaty” or “MT”), in 2013, the international copyright community has shown its willingness to take further steps in the harmonization of limitations and exceptions (“L&Es”) in the field of copyright. However, the Marrakesh Treaty is only the tip of the iceberg. Its preparation and negotiation took place against the background of a much broader debate over the introduction of so-called “ceilings” in international copyright law: binding rules that set a maximum level of permissible protection. While the Marrakesh Treaty had success and became reality, the bigger project of regulating the ceilings of copyright protection in an international instrument is still pending.

The present article discusses whether the European Union, and especially Hungary, can successfully deal with the copyrightproblematic of the cultural/book heritage in a landscape that iscolored by digital technologies, the Internet, and the ever growingnumber of services related to digitization and preservation. The paper introduces the key issues relevant to the copyright problematic of“digital world friendly” preservation and dissemination of our cultural heritage. It highlights that almost none of these matters is addressed by European Union law, which acts as an obstacle to effective cultural preservation in the digital age. The article also notes that the constant development of digital technologies hasled to the appearance of new market players, new business models, and, consequently, new economic interests in the book industry. The chapter compares the present and future of book digitization by culturalinstitutions from a copyright perspective. It introduces the currentframework of limitations and exceptions granted by the European Union– with a special focus on Hungary – for cultural preservation purposes.