With the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiation concluded, attention is now turning to the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement. The TPP currently includes the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Peru, Malaysia and Vietnam. Canada has not joined the negotiation, but there have been periodic rumours that wants in (it was apparently initially asked but declined due to the impact due to the agricultural impact).

Much like ACTA, there have been periodic TPP leaks, particularly on intellectual property issues. Last month, the New Zealand and Chilean proposals leaked online. Yesterday, the big one leaked – the U.S.’s 38 page intellectual property chapter. The U.S. plan is everything it wanted in ACTA but didn’t get. For example, the digital lock rules are the U.S. DMCA, complete with exact same exceptions (no more, no less). The term of copyright matches the U.S. term of life of the author plus 70 years, beyond the Berne requirement and Canadian law. The ISP provisions including a copy of the U.S. notice-and-takedown system as well as provisions that go beyond U.S. law. In other words, the U.S. envisions using the TPP to export its copyright law to as many countries as possible while creating backdoor changes to its own domestic laws. Moreover, the chapter extends well beyond copyright, with patent provisions that would restrict countries’ ability to restrict patentable subject matter.

KEI provides a good initial overview of some of the U.S. demands. While Canadians are not directly affected at the moment, it is certainly possible that pressure to join the TPP will increase in the months ahead with a deal that Canada did not have a hand in negotiating.