It looks like intellectual property is the focus of another treaty negotiation affecting NZ.
The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an existing free trade agreement (FTA) between NZ, Singapore, Brunei and Chile signed in 2005. It allows for more countries to join and the USA, Australia, Vietnam and Peru have all indicated that they are interested. Substantive negotiations began in March.
There are claims mounting that the USA wants to reframe the agreement around IP protection on behalf of its content industries and limited concessions in all other areas.
The concern is that it’s not about a meeting of mutual interests but a game of how much wiggle room can be found on the edge of the US demands.
I’ll keeping an eye on it and happy for more information or different views.
As well as watching out for IP in this slowly moving agreement, we will need to watch the machinations of the US dairy lobby and a possible assault on Pharmac too.
Yes, it would certain,y be easier for US content industries, via their trade representatives, to bully the TPP countries without the bulwark that Europe has provided in the ACTA negotiations. These people are like a hydra – no sooner have you cut off one head than another springs up biting you from behind, so good to have as many people as possible on the lookout.
Seems the US have shown what their priorities are.
Their agenda seems to simply bully other nations into giving up their rights in order to be more in line with U.S. policy. While I’m sure people all over the world have been saying that we neeed to work together on matters of the Internet, it seems no one is interested in doing this for anything other than that rather loosely termed non-entity called “Intellectual Property”.
Imagine if this sort of effort were expended on more morally objectionable issues such as child pornography. Is everything about profit?!?
shame the hashtag #TPP was taken by “tea party partiots”, whoever they are.
mmmmmm. tea.
@Brenda Drat. Is there a hashtag for it then? I like hashtags. I do like a nice cup of tea though. Maybe the #TPP people are something to do with Boston?