TPP agreement reached
The 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have reached a provisional agreement, which reportedly includes a greater harmonisation of intellectual property laws.
A deal was signed yesterday, October 5, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The countries participating in the agreement are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, US, and Vietnam.
All countries’ individual governments will need to ratify the deal before it can take effect.
Among the key IP provisions in the agreement is that each country will establish a legal framework for patents in accordance with the 1994 TRIPS agreement.
Copyright law will be required to allow for protection of artistic performances and creative works and include exceptions and limitations, though it is not known what those will be.
A framework establishing a safe harbour status for internet service providers will also be required and participants must also include criminal sanctions for the theft of trade secrets within their national laws.
One sticking point, and which reportedly contributed to delays in reaching an agreement, was the rule surrounding the length of protection afforded to data exclusivity rights for biological drugs.
The US had argued for a 12-year period of protection whereas Australia and New Zealand wanted five.
According to reports, a compromise between the 12 and 5-year period has been reached, although the exact number of years has not been disclosed.
Jim Greenwood, chief executive of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), said he was “disappointed” that “reports from Atlanta” suggested that the 12-year period had not been agreed.
“BIO strongly believes that 12 years of data exclusivity is a prerequisite to attract the investment required to continue medical innovation and develop new biological cures and therapies.”
The full TPP agreement has yet to be publicly disclosed and so far no publication date has been set.
US President Barack Obama welcomed the agreement.
He said: “The deal strengthens our strategic relationships with our partners and allies in a region that will be vital to the 21st century”.
But James Love, director of activist group Knowledge Ecology International, criticised the lack of transparency.
He said: “We are at a disadvantage to comment on the agreement, precisely because of that secrecy.
“We don’t know if the TPP will mandate a copyright term of life plus 70 years, change the global rules on copyright exceptions, block legislation to limit remedies for the infringement of orphan copyrighted works, require lower standards for granting patents, mandate patents on new uses of old drugs, require patent term extensions.”
Love called on US trade ambassador Michael Froman and the Obama administration to publish a copy of the agreement immediately.
