US government releases full TPP deal
The full intellectual property chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement has been released and has generated mixed reactions.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman released the final full agreement yesterday, November 5.
The IP chapter, number 18 of 30, confirms many of the provisions that were revealed by campaigning organisation WikiLeaks last month.
The TPP deal covers 12 nations—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, US and Vietnam. The final agreement was reached on October 5.
All countries’ individual governments will need to ratify the deal before it can take effect.
Among the leaked provisions that have been confirmed include, a requirement for each participating nation to provide a copyright protection term of ‘life plus 70 years’.
Also, a safe harbour provision for internet service providers (ISP) is required but this is not conditional on the ISP actively monitoring for infringing content.
The minimum length of data protection for biologics is five years, but there is an option for countries to provide data protection for eight years. This had been a point of contention between Australia and the US, where the former had requested it just be five years and the US had argued for a 12 year term.
Participating countries must also establish criminal procedures and penalties for the theft of a company’s trade secrets. Protections for plant varieties must be in line with the 1991 International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants agreement.
US ambassador Froman said the agreement was “ critical” to the US’s economic success in the future.
“American values will be advanced along with our interests. With this agreement, we have an opportunity not only to promote growth, but to shape the framework in which that growth takes place.
“I would encourage everyone to take a moment to consider the costs of not moving forward with this agreement. US leadership in writing the rules of the road for trade in the Asia-Pacific region is critical,” he added.
But rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation held a different view.
A statement from the organisation published yesterday criticised the “secretive, lobbyist-controlled policymaking process” which has led to a deal that “upholds corporate rights and interests at the direct expense of all our digital rights”.
