www.eff.org/issues/tpp
What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive, multi-national trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement. The main problems are two-fold:
(1) IP chapter: Leaked draft texts of the agreement show that the IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of speech, right to privacy and due process, and hinder peoples' abilities to innovate.
(2) Lack of transparency: The entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy.
The twelve nations currently negotiating the TPP are the US, Japan, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, and Brunei Darussalam. The TPP contains a chapter on intellectual property covering copyright, trademarks, patents and perhaps, geographical indications. Since the draft text of the agreement has never been offically released to the public, we know from leaked documents, such as the February 2011 draft US TPP IP Rights Chapter [PDF], that US negotiators are pushing for the adoption of copyright measures far more restrictive than currently required by international treaties, including the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
The TPP Will Rewrite Global Rules on Intellectual Property Enforcement
All signatory countries will be required to conform their domestic laws and policies to the provisions of the Agreement. In the US, this is likely to further entrench controversial aspects of US copyright law (such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA]) and restrict the ability of Congress to engage in domestic law reform to meet the evolving IP needs of American citizens and the innovative technology sector. The recently leaked US-proposed IP chapter also includes provisions that appear to go beyond current US law.
The leaked US IP chapter includes many detailed requirements that are more restrictive than current international standards, and would require significant changes to other countries’ copyright laws. These include obligations for countries to:
- Place Greater Liability on Internet Intermediaries: The TPP would force the adoption of the US DMCA Internet intermediaries copyright safe harbor regime in its entirety. For example, this would require Chile to rewrite its forward-looking 2010 copyright law that currently establishes a judicial notice-and-takedown regime, which provides greater protection to Internet users’ expression and privacy than the DMCA.
- Regulate Temporary Copies: Treat temporary reproductions of copyrighted works without copyright holders' authorization as copyright infringement. The language reveals a profound disconnect with the reality of the modern computer, as all routine computer functions rely upon the regular creation of temporary copies of programs and files. As drafted, the related provision creates chilling effects not just on how we behave online, but also on the basic ability of people and companies to use and create on the Web.
- Expand Copyright Terms: Create copyright terms well beyond the internationally agreed period in the 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The TPP could extend copyright term protections from life of the author + 50 years, to Life + 70 years for works created by individuals, and either 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation for corporate owned works (such as Mickey Mouse).
- Escalate Protections for Digital Locks: It will compel signatory nations to enact laws banning circumvention of digital locks (technological protection measures or TPMs) [PDF] that mirror the DMCA and treat violation of the TPM provisions as a separate offense even when no copyright infringement is involved. This would require countries like New Zealand to completely rewrite its innovative 2008 copyright law, as well as override Australia’s carefully-crafted 2007 TPM regime exclusions for region-coding on movies on DVDs, videogames, and players, and for embedded software in devices that restrict access to goods and services for the device—a thoughtful effort by Australian policy makers to avoid the pitfalls experienced with the US digital locks provisions. In the US, business competitors have used the DMCA to try to block printer cartridge refill services, competing garage door openers, and to lock mobile phones to particular network providers.
- Ban Parallel Importation: Ban parallel importation of genuine goods acquired from other countries without the authorization of copyright owners.
- Adopt Criminal Sanctions: Adopt criminal sanctions for copyright infringement that is done without a commercial motivation, based on the provisions of the 1997 US No Electronic Theft Act.
In short, countries would have to abandon any efforts to learn from the mistakes of the US and its experience with the DMCA over the last 12 years, and adopt many of the most controversial aspects of US copyright law in their entirety. At the same time, the US IP chapter does not export the limitations and exceptions in the US copyright regime like fair use, which have enabled freedom of expression and technological innovation to flourish in the US. It includes only a placeholder for exceptions and limitations. This raises serious concerns about other countries’ sovereignty and the ability of national governments to set laws and policies to meet their domestic priorities.
Non-Transparent and On The Fast Track
Despite the broad scope and far-reaching implications of the TPP, negotiations for the agreement have taken place behind closed doors and outside of the checks and balances that operate at traditional multilateral treaty-making organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization.
Like ACTA, the TPP is being negotiated rapidly with little transparency. During the TPP negotiation round in Chile in February 2011, negotiators received strong messages from prominent civil society groups demanding an end to the secrecy that has shielded TPP negotiations from the scrutiny of national lawmakers and the public. Letters addressed to government representatives in Australia, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand and the US emphasized that both the process and effect of the proposed TPP agreement is deeply undemocratic. TPP negotiators apparently discussed the requests for greater public disclosure during the February 2011 negotiations, but took no action.
Why You Should Care
TPP raises significant concerns about citizens’ freedom of expression, due process, innovation, the future of the Internet’s global infrastructure, and the right of sovereign nations to develop policies and laws that best meet their domestic priorities. In sum, the TPP puts at risk some of the most fundamental rights that enable access to knowledge for the world’s citizens.
The US Trade Rep is pursuing a TPP agreement that will require signatory counties to adopt heightened copyright protection that advances the agenda of the US entertainment and pharmaceutical industries agendas, but omits the flexibilities and exceptions that protect Internet users and technology innovators.
The TPP will affect countries beyond the 11 that are currently involved in negotiations. Like ACTA, the TPP Agreement is a plurilateral agreement that will be used to create new heightened global IP enforcement norms. Countries that are not parties to the negotiation will likely be asked to accede to the TPP as a condition of bilateral trade agreements with the US and other TPP members, or evaluated against the TPP's copyright enforcement standards in the annual Special 301 process administered by the US Trade Rep.
www.infowars.com/obama-nominat…
Obama Nominates Former SOPA Lobbyist to Help Lead TPP Negotiations
Maira Sutton
EFF.org
March 4, 2014
President Obama has nominated former SOPA lobbyist Robert Holleyman to join the team of U.S. negotiators leading the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks. If confirmed by the Senate, the former chief executive officer of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) would serve as a Deputy to the U.S. Trade Representative. Coincidentally, the current head of the BSA is former White House IP Czar Victoria Espinel.
Holleyman is an interesting choice for the Obama administration, given the current standstill in TPP negotiations. Reports from the TPP ministerial meeting last weekend said that nothing substantive came out of those talks and that an end date for this sprawling deal is growing increasingly uncertain. One of the many topics of contention is the copyright enforcement sections. On these, the U.S. refuses to agree to provisions that would allow signatory countries flexibility in their copyright regimes.
As a result, countries like Chile and Canada are standing firm against U.S. proposals—a stance confirmed by the “Intellectual Property” chapter published by Wikileaks in November. These proposals include provisions that would place greater liabilities on Internet Service Providers, create new tools of censorship, and new restrictions on how users can access and interact with digital content. Instead of allowing other countries to choose their own approaches to copyright, Obama’s choice to appoint a prominent supporter of the spectacularly failed SOPA bill indicates the White House’s unwillingness to let up on its extreme stance on copyright enforcement.
The evidence of corporate influence on trade talks doesn’t stop there. Recent reports revealed that prominent U.S. trade officials had received millions of dollars in bonuses before they left their corporate jobs to take up their position at the Obama administration. Soon after these revelations, the U.S. Trade Rep Michael Froman—who received $4 million in bonuses from banking giant CitiGroup—introduced plans to create a new Public Interest Trade Advisory Committee. If this was an attempt to address our criticism of the overwhelming influence of private interests in setting the U.S. trade agenda, it was—at best—a half-hearted one. As we’ve pointed out, fundamental issues underlie this trade advisory system, primarily that members would be gagged from discussing or publicly advocating on the provisions they have seen as a result of serving on this committee. This Washington Post graphic clearly illustrates the current dominating influence of corporate industries in these trade advisory committees.
TPP Talks at a Standstill
The pattern of most other TPP countries resisting relatively extreme U.S. proposals is becoming more and more common. According to some sources, Japan and the U.S. are so far from agreement on certain agricultural issues that the U.S. Trade Rep suggested to the other countries that they should exclude Japan from the talks entirely. And senior legislators from seven TPP countries demanded more transparency in negotiations, releasing a statement demanding that the text of the agreement be released before it is signed. Even the Malaysian trade minister said publicly that he would not sign the agreement as long as the text remained secret.
Meanwhile, Obama and the U.S. Trade Rep faces mounting opposition on the domestic front. Lack of concrete assurance from the trade official that he would be steadfast in his push for environmental protections in TPP has apparently eroded the trust of some House Democrats and powerful liberal supporters. Without solid support from his own political base in the House, it will be almost impossible for Obama to get Fast Track authority. Without Fast Track, it’s not clear the administration can pass the TPP at all.
Beyond the legislature, the White House lacks popular support for its trade agenda. A recent poll showed that a majority of U.S. voters oppose Fast Track and the TPP. The same survey showed that there are marginally more Republicans who oppose Obama’s whole trade agenda, despite the fact that there are many more prominent Republicans in Congress who support handing Fast Track authority to Obama.
TPP’s completion becomes ever more tenuous as resistance to its corporate-driven policies continue to dissolve political support for the deal. Yet Obama’s nomination of Holleyman suggests that his administration has no intention of removing the draconian copyright policies out of TPP no matter how unpopular or contentious they may be. It also reflects the greater issue at hand—the White House is choosing to heed the demands of Hollywood and other corporate giants and ignore the interests of users.
Those of us in the U.S. need to get our Congress members to oppose Fast Track authority and exercise their constitutional authority to ensure that these trade deals respect our digital rights. It would be an assault on our democratic governance to allow our lawmakers to hand over their own mandate to the White House.
This article was posted: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 at 9:35 am
What is TPP?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership would create a super-treaty which would jeopardize the sovereignty of the nations involved by giving that power to large corporations like Wal-Mart, Monsanto, Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, Halliburton, Philip Morris, GE, GM, Apple.
- There are currently 11 nations involved: U.S., New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico and Canada. Japan has shown interest.
- The economic power of this group is more than 40% larger than the 27- nation European Union.
- TPP will offshore millions of good-paying jobs to low-wage nations, undercutting working conditions globally and increasing unemployment.
- TPP will expand pharmaceutical monopoly protections and institute longer patents that will decrease access to affordable medications
- TPP will limit food GMO labeling and allow the import of goods that do not meet US safe standards.
- TPP will institute SOPA, PIPA, and CISPA-like regulations and Internet measures which restrict our right to free speech.
- TPP will roll back Wall Street regulations, and prohibit bans on risky financial services.
- TPP will give multinational corporations and private investors the right to sue nations in private tribunals. These tribunals have the power to overturn environmental, labor, or any other laws that limit profit, awarding taxpayer funded damages.
- TPP will encourage the privatization of lands and natural resources in areas where indigenous people live.
