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

[Winthrop Yu]

   +1 and re-posted the email (with an intro comment) to our local general 
membership list.  It would be hice if we had a link to a (not text-only) 
isoc.org page that we could post to our social media channels.

WYn
PH



On 11/18/2013 11:50 PM, Elver Loho wrote:
> 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).
>>
>> _______________________________________________