[x-pubpol] EFF TPP update

[Joly MacFie]

link heavy EFF report on the San Diego TPP meeting

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/07/21st-century-agreement-is-really-best-way



Last week, at the latest round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
negotiations in San Diego, California, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
announced<http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/blog/2012/july/ustr-introduces-new-copyright-exceptions-limitations-provision>
that
it has proposed a new provision on limitations and exceptions to copyright.
 It's nice to hear about a proposal that seems to expand limitations like
fair use, and it is also nice to see that – finally - the USTR is listening
to the technology
industries<http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/04/trans-pacific-trade-talks-deal-must-protect-tech-i/?page=1#article>.
However, the draft treaty itself is still
secret<http://keepthewebopen.com/tpp> so
the implications of this new provision are in fact ambiguous. We can’t know
what their proposal means for copyright without knowing what’s in the rest
of the chapter. It could be good, it could be bad, it could be indifferent,
it could be LOLCATs.

The TPP agreement has been framed by the USTR as a 21st century
agreement<http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2011/november/trans-pacific-partnership-leaders-statement>,
but we’re still not convinced it’s an agreement adequate for 21st century
society-- especially in an environment where the public,
Congress<http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120629/13095119537/ustr-rejects-rep-issas-request-to-observe-tpp-negotiations.shtml>,
and civil rights organizations are
denied<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/trans-pacific-partnership-documents-sherrod-brown-jeff-merkley-ron-wyden-robert-menendez_n_1624956.html>
access
to the treaty’s official text, while corporate representatives have full
access to it<http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120622/23220319444/ustr-gives-mpaa-full-online-access-to-tpp-text-still-wont-share-with-senate-staffers.shtml>.
In a world where you can access the complete state code of Utah in Github
to engage citizens in legislative
drafting<https://github.com/divegeek/utahcode>,
secrecy and backroom deals are not exactly a 21st century way to build the
21stcentury society.


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Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
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