Category TPP

A New Trend in Trade Agreements: Ensuring Access to Cancer Drugs

[Maria Fabiana Jorge] Abstract: ... prices are clearly out of reach for most patients who will need them increasingly more to stay alive. While competition is critical to ensure lower drug prices, we have seen a number of strategies, including through trade agreements, to prevent competition and extend monopolies over these drugs and their very high drug prices. It is no accident that the exclusivity granted to biologic drugs has been one of the most conflictive provisions in recent trade agreements such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Nevertheless a new trend in trade agreements started in 2007 when U.S. Members of Congress pushed back against the interests of powerful economic groups seeking longer monopolies for drugs.

Chile, New Zealand and Singapore Launch Digital Economy Partnership (DEPA) Talks

The trade ministers from Chile, New Zealand and Singapore have announced a new set of trade negotiations at this month's APEC meeting - the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (“DEPA”). Their statement says "The DEPA seeks to deepen and strengthen cooperation in digital areas, establish new international approaches for digital trade issues, and explore new frontiers in the digital economy, such as digital identities, e-payments, cross-border data flows and artificial intelligence."

May 20: Webinar on the USMCA (NAFTA 2.0) and Access to Medicines

How will the recently-concluded United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) impact access to affordable medicines? The USMCA – the renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (also commonly referred to as NAFTA 2.0) – incorporates many of the harmful provisions from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), including patent provisions that were suspended by the remaining Parties following the withdrawal of the US. It goes even further than the TPP in extending the exclusivities for biologics to ten years, an unprecedented TRIPS-plus measure. Beyond the intellectual property chapter, multiple other chapters and provisions of the USMCA also have implications for access to affordable, safe and effective medicines.

Analysis of the Proposed TPP-Related Patent Linkage System in Taiwan

[Ping-Hsun Chen] Abstract: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) Agreement mandates member states to implement a patent linkage system vested in Article 18.53. To successfully join the TPP Agreement, Taiwan has begun the legislation of a patent linkage system by proposing an amendment for the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Article 18.53 requires a member either to adopt a notification mechanism under Paragraph 1 or to stay the issuance of marketing approval under Paragraph 2. But, Taiwan’s proposal includes both measures.

Secondary Liability and Safe Harbors for Internet Service Providers

This is the second in a series of blogs comparing copyright and technology provisions in eight trade agreements: TPP, CPTPP, USMCA, CETA, RCEP, EU-Mercosur FTA, EU-Japan FTA and the China-Korea FTA. The previous post discussed provisions calling for copyright ‘balance’ and addressing the circumvention of technological protection measures. This one looks at the provisions requiring secondary liability for internet service providers (ISPs) and allowing-or-requiring safe harbors from such liability.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Will Enter Into Force on December 30

The New Zealand Ministry of Trade and Export Growth has formally announced that the CPTPP has been ratified by six countries - Australia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and Mexico - and will take affect on December 30. The sixth country (Australia) gave formal notification today, so the agreement will be in force among these six countries after the required 60 day period.

What next for mega trade deals? Australian Senate passes Pacific Trade Deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership

QUT's leading legal expert on the Trans Pacific Partnership says the deal has profound impacts for Australia but warns settlement of cross-border disputes by an international tribunal remains controversial. 

Professor Matthew Rimmer, from QUT’s Faculty of Law, said it had taken more than a decade to do but today the Australian Senate passed the legislation by 33 votes to 15.

“The most controversial issues remained investor-state dispute settlement, labour rights, health care and the protection of the environment,” Professor Rimmer said.

Copyright Exceptions, Trade Agreements, and the Digital Economy

PIJIP has researched IP and trade for a while, but we’ve mostly focused on FTAs that included the US.  This year we’ve begun to broaden our view – to look more closely at agreements like RCEP and other Asia-Pacific agreements. This fall we began a detailed comparison of CPTPP, RCEP, CETA, RCEP, EU-Mercosur, EU-Japan, and the China-Korea FTA, with a focus on the copyright and enforcement provisions, and with an eye toward provisions that affect the digital economy. In the last few couple of weeks we’ve begun looking into the provisions in USMCA as well.  This post compares some of the existing text on two provisions: the ‘balance’ provision and protection of TPMs.

The Chilling Effect: Investor-State Dispute Settlement, Graphic Health Warnings, the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership – Matthew Rimmer

The Chilling Effect: Investor-State Dispute Settlement, Graphic Health Warnings, the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Victoria University Law and Justice Journal (2017) Matthew Rimmer Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) poses significant challenges in respect of tobacco control,…

The Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products – a Special Issue of the QUT Law Review – Open Access

The QUT Law Review has officially published the final version of Volume 17 (2) – Special Issue on the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products. This issue looks at important legal and regulatory issues surrounding plain packaging reforms and the ways in which other jurisdictions have approached plain packaging reform and policy. In particular, it covers Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland.

“Free Trade” Agreements Would Be More Fair With Fair Use At Their Core

... Copyright and other intellectual property rights will continue to be included in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, such as in the continuation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (now renamed “CPTPP” to stand for Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the talks on the Mercosur-EU trade agreement.  

A common theme across all these trade agreements is an increase in copyright protection, enforcement measures, and infringement penalties aimed to benefit incumbent industries and rights holders. What is usually missing? The necessary checks and balances that protect and defend the rights of users and the public interest to access, share, and re-use content in the public good.

TPP Texts Show Suspended IP Provisions

[William New, IP Watch, Link (CC-BY-SA)] Trade ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement have released the list of provisions they have suspended, including a range of articles related to intellectual property rights, such as patentable subject matter, test data protection, biologics,…