Deeplinks Blog posts about TRIPS
Democracy makes the job of our trade negotiators much harder. The light of democratic oversight makes it difficult for them to pander to the incessant demands of industry lobbyists, while ignoring the broader public interest. And the transparency that is central to democratic systems of governments impedes their efforts to hide what they are doing behind closed doors.
During the second Global Congress on Intellectual Property last week in Rio de Janeiro, one of the major debate topics was how international trade agreements are driving the expansion of maximalist intellectual property laws and enforcement around the world. EFF was there presenting and discussing some of our main concerns.
The Internet has taught us a lot over the years: not only about cats and their skills in performing amazing tricks, but also about how our choices to adopt and fight for open content and open infrastructure affect our digital civil liberties. One thing that we have been repeatedly reminded of this year is that the Internet itself is not necessarily an agent for positive and open outcomes. It can be perverted through surveillance, through intermediaries, and especially through short-minded policymaking.
The relentless expansion of intellectual property from the developed world to the developing world is rooted in a key international agreement: it’s called the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (colloquially, “TRIPS”), and it was enacted in 1994 by the World Trade Organization (WTO). TRIPS was envisioned as a means for expanding markets for intellectual property (IP), and of reducing barriers to international trade in intellectual property, through the effective protection of intellectual property rights. For some, effective protection of intellectual property is associated with high standards of protection and enforcement.
The below is a joint statement from EFF, Knowledge Ecology International, Public Knowledge, Public Citizen, and others. See below for the full list of signatories.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a new copyright proposal today for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. One part of the proposal is a "3-step test" that may restrict copyright exceptions like fair use.
The USTR says that its proposal - the text of which is still secret - will include provisions that may mimic Article 13 of the WTO TRIPS accord, which says:
Members shall confine limitations or exceptions to exclusive rights to certain special cases which do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the right holder.
