WikiLeaks released the Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

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LateX'Dog

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Today, 13 November 2013, WikiLeaks released the secret negotiated draft text for the entire TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Intellectual Property Rights Chapter. The TPP is the largest-ever economic treaty, encompassing nations representing more than 40 per cent of the world’s GDP. The WikiLeaks release of the text comes ahead of the decisive TPP Chief Negotiators summit in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 19-24 November 2013. The chapter published by WikiLeaks is perhaps the most controversial chapter of the TPP due to its wide-ranging effects on medicines, publishers, internet services, civil liberties and biological patents. Significantly, the released text includes the negotiation positions and disagreements between all 12 prospective member states.

The TPP is the forerunner to the equally secret US-EU pact TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), for which President Obama initiated US-EU negotiations in January 2013. Together, the TPP and TTIP will cover more than 60 per cent of global GDP. Both pacts exclude China.

Since the beginning of the TPP negotiations, the process of drafting and negotiating the treaty’s chapters has been shrouded in an unprecedented level of secrecy. Access to drafts of the TPP chapters is shielded from the general public. Members of the US Congress are only able to view selected portions of treaty-related documents in highly restrictive conditions and under strict supervision. It has been previously revealed that only three individuals in each TPP nation have access to the full text of the agreement, while 600 ’trade advisers’ – lobbyists guarding the interests of large US corporations such as Chevron, Halliburton, Monsanto and Walmart – are granted privileged access to crucial sections of the treaty text.

The TPP negotiations are currently at a critical stage. The Obama administration is preparing to fast-track the TPP treaty in a manner that will prevent the US Congress from discussing or amending any parts of the treaty. Numerous TPP heads of state and senior government figures, including President Obama, have declared their intention to sign and ratify the TPP before the end of 2013.

WikiLeaks’ Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange stated: “The US administration is aggressively pushing the TPP through the US legislative process on the sly.” The advanced draft of the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter, published by WikiLeaks on 13 November 2013, provides the public with the fullest opportunity so far to familiarise themselves with the details and implications of the TPP.

The 95-page, 30,000-word IP Chapter lays out provisions for instituting a far-reaching, transnational legal and enforcement regime, modifying or replacing existing laws in TPP member states. The Chapter’s subsections include agreements relating to patents (who may produce goods or drugs), copyright (who may transmit information), trademarks (who may describe information or goods as authentic) and industrial design.

The longest section of the Chapter – ’Enforcement’ – is devoted to detailing new policing measures, with far-reaching implications for individual rights, civil liberties, publishers, internet service providers and internet privacy, as well as for the creative, intellectual, biological and environmental commons. Particular measures proposed include supranational litigation tribunals to which sovereign national courts are expected to defer, but which have no human rights safeguards. The TPP IP Chapter states that these courts can conduct hearings with secret evidence. The IP Chapter also replicates many of the surveillance and enforcement provisions from the shelved SOPA and ACTA treaties.

The consolidated text obtained by WikiLeaks after the 26-30 August 2013 TPP meeting in Brunei – unlike any other TPP-related documents previously released to the public – contains annotations detailing each country’s positions on the issues under negotiation. Julian Assange emphasises that a “cringingly obsequious” Australia is the nation most likely to support the hardline position of US negotiators against other countries, while states including Vietnam, Chile and Malaysia are more likely to be in opposition. Numerous key Pacific Rim and nearby nations – including Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and, most significantly, Russia and China – have not been involved in the drafting of the treaty.

In the words of WikiLeaks’ Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange, “If instituted, the TPP’s IP regime would trample over individual rights and free expression, as well as ride roughshod over the intellectual and creative commons. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs.”

Current TPP negotiation member states are the United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Chile, Singapore, Peru, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei.
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"If instituted, the TPP’s IP regime would trample over individual rights and free expression, as well as ride roughshod over the intellectual and creative commons. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs."

https://wikileaks.org/tpp/pressrelease.html

http://wikileaks.org/tpp/#start

This has been openly discussed as being in existence but there has been no real proof.

Now we have it.

Some more information:

http://www.flushthetpp.org/

http://pirateparty.org.au/wiki/Issues/TPP

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/26/stephen-harper-tpp-canada_n_3492531.html

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/30/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-dfat

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...against-its-own-consumers-20131113-2xh0p.html

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...ship-free-trade-agreement-20131113-2xh0m.html

http://keionline.org/node/1825

http://www.citizen.org/Wikileaks-publishes-TPP-IP-Chapter

Australian perspective:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement aimed at deepening economic ties between the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and eight other countries in the region, has been largely shrouded in secrecy. Today, however, whistleblower outfit Wikileaks leaked a copy of the agreement’s “most controversial chapter” which has prompted immediate criticism of its SOPA-like provisions that have Internet freedom-limiting potential.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently working towards the creation of a regional free-trade agreement between several Asia-Pacific countries which together account for around 40% of the world’s GDP.

The agreement aims to create deep economic ties between a dozen countries – Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, United States, Vietnam, Mexico, Canada and New Zealand – by easing trade in goods and services, encouraging investment, and forging understandings across a wide range of policy issues.

Negotiations between the nations have been running for around two and a half years and the TPP agreement itself is now reportedly more than 1,000 pages deep. Overall the negotiations have drawn criticism for their secrecy but today Wikileaks announced that they had obtained a copy of the “most controversial chapter” from the TPP agreement which reveals the negotiation positions for all 12 countries on IP and copyright issues.

Many topics are covered in the chapter including DRM and other ‘technical measures’, extended copyright terms, increased penalties for infringement and ISP liability, the latter with a proposal for “adopting and reasonably implementing a policy that provides for termination in appropriate circumstances of the accounts of repeat infringers.”

Reception to the leaked agreement has so far been highly critical. Knowledge Ecology International notes that the TPP IPR chapter not only proposes the granting of more patents, expansion of rightsholder privileges and increased penalties for infringement, but also plans the creation of intellectual property rights on data.
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http://torrentfreak.com/first-leaked-tpp-chapter-evokes-memories-of-sopa-131113/

WikiLeaks has exposed details of secret trade negotiations that could leave Australians paying more for drugs and medicines, movies, computer games and software, and be placed under surveillance as part of a US-led crackdown on internet piracy.

A leaked draft of a controversial chapter of the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement reveals the negotiating positions of 12 countries – including Australia – on copyright, patents and other intellectual property issues, with a heavy focus on enforcement measures against internet piracy.

Intellectual property experts are critical of the draft treaty, which they say would help the multinational movie and music industries, software giants and pharmaceutical manufacturers to maintain and increase prices by reinforcing the rights of copyright and patent owners, clamping down on online piracy and raising obstacles to the introduction of generic drugs and medicines.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has indicated that he is keen to see the trade talks pushed to a conclusion next month, saying "there’s always horse-trading in these negotiations, but in the end ... everyone is better off"’.
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http://www.smh.com.au/technology/te...-could-be-bitter-medicine-20131113-2xh4p.html

Similarly, lawmakers, politicians, and advocates from around the world have been challenging the legitimacy of this undemocratic trade agreement:

Chilean Senators recently called for a public debate on TPP, requesting the President to provide “timely and accurate” information on the affects of the agreement on their country. They directly mention Chilean digital rights organization, ONG Derechos Digitales, and former Chilean TPP negotiator who spoke out against limits on access to knowledge and culture on the Internet.

In New Zealand, a Parliamentary member is demanding answers from the Prime Minister about the secrecy of the agreement and how its provisions could undermine consumer protection laws.

Canadian Member of Parliament Don Davies has called on the Prime Minister to give Parliamentary Member access to the TPP, especially in light of documents revealing how a small group of industry associations have had special access to Canada’s negotiating position.

The Malaysian Cabinet released a statement [PDF] saying that would not be bound by a fixed timeline on TPP, and called for more transparency in the process. Malaysian opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, also attacked the TPP.




The draft contains US and Japanese proposals designed to enhance the ability of pharmaceutical manufacturers to extend and widen their patents on drugs and medicines.

US and AU seek to criminalise modifications of technology devices to circumvent region restrictions.

US and Australia oppose a clause stating that ISPs "cannot be held legally responsible for copyright infringement on their networks"

US pushes a clause to patent surgical methods.
 
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Maybe I'm being dumb, but I don't get it? Why is this scary?

Aside that a free trade agreement with the USA would likely result in EU businesses being trampled over, as globalisation typically favours scale

edit: My mistake, I thought this was about the USA-EU looming trade agreement
 
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glen8 said:
Can someone read and post a TLDR
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What is in the draft and info about the TPP:

Trans Pacific Trade is a deal that is mostly not about trade. Of the 29 draft chapters, only 5 deal with traditional trade issues. Most would set rules on non-trade matters that affect our daily lives.

Who can see it in the US: Obama and selected team.

Limited access: Senate finance committee, Congress (both complain over how limited the access is)

Some worrisome information in the draft:

One of the laws stipulates that Every nation who signs this agreement agrees that any citizen who so much as provides documentation about copyrighted communications shall be under criminal penalty "even absent willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright or related rights piracy"

History on the document shows that Obama continues to veto including the following sentence which 10/12 countries want to include: "maintain a balance between the rights of intellectual property holders and the legitimate interests of users and the community".

It also allows companies to never have their drugs become generic worldwide granting endless monopoly and over pricing on drugs from life saving to mundane. The catch? Every 20 years they simply have to think of a new use for the drug.

History on the document shows Obama is pushing for all ISPs to be liable for any copyright violations users do on their network. Fortunately almost all the other nations oppose this.

Venezuela wants corporations to have the right to confiscate your computer for evidence, on mere suspicion. Lets hope this does not get added. "Judicial authorities shall have the authority [VN propose: , at the right holder's request,] to order [VN propose: as provisional measures] the seizure or other taking into custody of suspected infringing goods, materials and implements relevant to the infringement, and, at least for trademark counterfeiting, documentary evidence relevant to the infringement."
 
so what you're saying, is that we live in a messed up world

tell us something we don't know lol

unfortunately society is still in the 'one up manship' phase so this will continue for decades
 
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement aimed at deepening economic ties between the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and eight other countries in the region, has been largely shrouded in secrecy. Today, however, whistleblower outfit Wikileaks leaked a copy of the agreement’s “most controversial chapter” which has prompted immediate criticism of its SOPA-like provisions that have Internet freedom-limiting potential.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is currently working towards the creation of a regional free-trade agreement between several Asia-Pacific countries which together account for around 40% of the world’s GDP.

The agreement aims to create deep economic ties between a dozen countries – Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, United States, Vietnam, Mexico, Canada and New Zealand – by easing trade in goods and services, encouraging investment, and forging understandings across a wide range of policy issues.

Negotiations between the nations have been running for around two and a half years and the TPP agreement itself is now reportedly more than 1,000 pages deep. Overall the negotiations have drawn criticism for their secrecy but today Wikileaks announced that they had obtained a copy of the “most controversial chapter” from the TPP agreement which reveals the negotiation positions for all 12 countries on IP and copyright issues.

Many topics are covered in the chapter including DRM and other ‘technical measures’, extended copyright terms, increased penalties for infringement and ISP liability, the latter with a proposal for “adopting and reasonably implementing a policy that provides for termination in appropriate circumstances of the accounts of repeat infringers.”

Reception to the leaked agreement has so far been highly critical. Knowledge Ecology International notes that the TPP IPR chapter not only proposes the granting of more patents, expansion of rightsholder privileges and increased penalties for infringement, but also plans the creation of intellectual property rights on data.
Click to expand...

http://torrentfreak.com/first-leaked-tpp-chapter-evokes-memories-of-sopa-131113/
 
smoove said:
Its just the beginning. It just amazes me how passive we're becoming as a society to these kinds of things. Realisticly I really have to stop being interested in these things because its making me really depressed because I wish there was something I could do to fight against it. But i suppose making people feel useless and passive is the whole end game.
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In this instance what exactly are we fighting against?
 
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