[Chapter-delegates] Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of IPR Provisions in TPP Agreement Draft

[Elver Loho]

I actually did not think that ISOC HQ would react to the TPP leak, so
I'm really happy that you did. Thanks! :)

Best,
Elver
.ee

elver.loho at gmail.com
+372 5661 6933
skype: elver.loho


On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 5:44 PM, Wende Cover <cover at isoc.org> wrote:
> Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of Intellectual Property
> Rights Provisions in Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) Draft
>
>
>
> The Internet Society is concerned that the global Internet may be harmed if
> countries adopt Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) provisions contained in
> the recently leaked Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) draft.  We do
> not believe that these provisions are consistent with basic principles of
> transparency, due process, accountability, proportionality and the rule of
> law.
>
>
>
> The leaked TPP Agreement is a complex set of rights and principles related
> to IPR and we believe that the current draft reflects a disproportionate
> balance of rights in favor of intellectual property owners.  In addition to
> other issues, these provisions could also have important consequences for
> online privacy, a critical dimension in light of heightened awareness
> worldwide about the importance of protecting the privacy and security of
> end-users.
>
>
>
> In particular, with respect to intermediary liability, some of the articles
> appear to assign new levels of responsibility to private entities and create
> an environment where content will be subject to extensive filtering.  Some
> draft provisions would impose an unparalleled set of conditions on
> intermediaries that would allow them to escape liability and could
> ultimately lead to content blocking and affect legitimate speech and online
> expression.
>
>
>
> Such measures are neither new nor original; they have appeared in similar
> forms in other national or international contexts. On the whole, these
> measures have proven to be inefficient or unworkable. They have failed to
> adequately address the stated problems or to provide sufficient answers to
> the existing challenges.
>
>
>
> The Internet Society has advocated for intellectual property discussions to
> adhere to minimum standards of process and substance. In June 2013, we
> released a paper in which we called on the international community to apply
> standards such as transparency, due process, accountability and compliance
> to the rule of law to all intellectual property discussions that relate to
> the Internet. Similarly, we have been vocal in advancing these principles in
> various fora, including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
> the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the Organization for Economic
> Co-Operation and Development (OECD).
>
>
>
> We also joined other organizations (1) in a statement made in 2012, urging
> the negotiators of the TPP “to make [the] process more transparent and
> inclusive, following the multistakeholder model, at least for those chapters
> of the agreement pertaining to the Internet.”
>
>
>
> Throughout this process, the Internet Society has taken the position of not
> commenting on substantive issues based on leaked texts. At the time, we
> understood that the leaked texts provided only a snapshot of the issues
> while many provisions were omitted.
>
>
>
> The most recent leak, released by Wikileaks, appears to be the complete
> draft of the TPP’s Intellectual Property chapter and has made us reconsider
> our position.
>
>
>
> That we feel compelled to comment on leaked versions of the TPP demonstrates
> that these basic process standards have been ignored.  In an era where the
> global economy depends on information and networks, we believe that
> discussions that affect the Internet and its users should reflect these
> basic principles of transparency and openness.
>
>
>
> Once again, the Internet Society calls upon the TPP negotiators to abide by
> standards of transparency as they complete this critical international
> agreement that will impact Internet users worldwide. We also urge the
> negotiating parties to reconsider the TPP’s intellectual property provisions
> and to ensure they don’t have a negative impact on innovation, creativity,
> prosperity and market participation.
>
>
>
> (1) The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), InternetNZ, Knowledge Ecology
> International (KEI), Open Media, Global Voices Advocacy and the
> International Federation of Libraries and Archives (IFLA).
>
>
>
>
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