This thesis charts, and investigates the role of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)-Plus provisions to protect intellectual property rights in the European Union (EU) international agreements. It critically discusses the extent to which the EU is seeking higher levels of intellectual property (IP) protection in the global sphere and analyses whether and to what extent the use of TRIPS-Plus provisions potentially clashes with the objective of the promotion and protection of human rights in the EU external action. This analysis is conducted across two intertwined axis: a chronological one and a conceptual one, in order to understand the evolution of the balance between IP and human rights protection. The main and overarching research question to which this thesis aims to answer is the following: To what extent and how has the EU reconciled high levels of IP protection with the promotion of human rights in its own international agreements? In answering this question, this thesis also purports broader considerations on the overall coherence of EU international agreements with the objectives laid down in Articles 3 and 21 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU). The theoretical framework of this research is that of the EU’s ‘constitutional regime governing foreign affairs’, and, in line with it, the approach adopted is normative, and the methodology used is doctrinal. This PhD dissertation is divided into three parts. The first part discusses the evolution of IP protection at the international level. The second part examines the position of IP rights within the EU, the competence of the EU to act in the IP field both internally and externally. The third and final part of this thesis systematically examines IP provisions in EU agreements and discusses the extent to which IP protection might conflict with the promotion of human rights