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

[Joly MacFie]

+1 to Winthrop. The link is

http://www.internetsociety.org/news/internet-society-expresses-concern-over-impact-intellectual-property-rights-provisions-trans




On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 6:23 PM, Winthrop Yu <w.yu at gmx.net> wrote:

>   +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).
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
>>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
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> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org
>



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