The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbour. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.
Statutory Instrument No.68 implements Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive), establishing a conditional safe harbour for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Ireland. The conditions prohibit any infringements of third-party rights, including rights relating to copyright or intellectual property, rights to which the law of defamation and malicious falsehood relate and rights under contract (Art. 15). The safe harbour is further delimited to certain activities - conduit, batching and hosting (Arts. 16–18) - carried out by internet intermediaries, rather than categories of service providers.

Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test” in line with the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.
Ireland has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, allowing others to make lawful use of copyrighted works without obtaining permission. The Copyright and Related Rights Act of 2000 specifies that no copyright infringement occurs in several instances, including fair dealing for research or private study, as well as fair dealing for criticism, review, or news reporting.

The European Union and Ireland have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.

The European Union and Ireland have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. Ireland transposed the Directive through the European Union (Protection of Trade Secrets) Regulations 2018.

Art. 85 of the Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU) contains provisions allowing contracting public entities to reject foreign goods not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures. In these cases, a tender submitted for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries exceeds 50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender (Art. 85.2). Additionally, in cases of equivalent offers, the provisions provide for a preference for European tenders and tenders covered by EU's international obligations. In practice, this possibility has rarely been used.
In 2016, the Directive has been transposed with the Law S.I. No. 286/2016 - European Union (Award of Contracts by Utility Undertakings) Regulations 2016.

Irish law allows foreign companies to operate in the country after registration under the Companies Act 2014. Any foreign incorporated company establishing a branch in Ireland is required to file certain documents with the Companies Registration Office (CRO). It is reported that any foreign company with a branch in Ireland has the same standing under Irish law for contract purposes as a domestic company incorporated in Ireland. In addition, it is reported that there are currently no general restrictions governing FDI in Ireland, no limits on the percentage of foreign ownership permitted, no requirement that Irish nationals must hold shares in Irish companies, and no restrictions on the purchase of land for industrial purposes by foreigners.

Section 137 of the Companies Act 2014 states that every Irish company must have at least one director who is resident in the European Economic Area (EEA) unless either:
- The company has filed a non-resident bond to the value of EUR 25,000 with the Companies Registration Office;
- The company holds a certificate from the Companies Registration Office confirming that the company has a real and continuous link with one or more economic activities in Ireland.

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

According to Section 1 of the Domain Registration Policy, only natural persons and entities with residency in the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA) can apply for a ".hu" domain.

Under Section 15/C of the Act CVII of 2001 on Electronic Commerce, video-sharing platform services are subject to a notification requirement. It is reported that, in the authorities' current practice, this notification has to include an official registration number, which is only available to companies with a local presence in Hungary. According to industry reports, this bureaucratic hurdle concerns other digital services and e-commerce as well.

The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by the Act CLV of 1997 on Consumer Protection (as amended in September 2019).

Hungary has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.