Text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
EFF has published their initial analysis of the final text, <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/11/release-full-tpp-text-after-five-years-secrecy-confirms-threats-users-rights" rel="nofollow">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/11/release-full-tpp-text-...</a><p><i>"The most shocking revelation from today’s release is how the TPP's Investment chapter defines "intellectual property" as an asset that can be subject to the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process. What this means is that companies could sue any of the TPP nations for introducing rules that they allege harm their right to exploit their copyright interests—such as new rights to use copyrighted works for some public interest purpose. A good example of this might be a country wishing to limit civil penalties for copyright infringement of orphan works ...<p>... the E-Commerce chapter has the next most serious ramifications for users ... it restricts the use of data localization laws, which are laws that require companies to host servers within a country’s borders, or prohibit them from transferring certain data overseas ... The E-Commerce chapter ... imposes a strict test that such measures must not amount to “arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade”—a test that would be applied by an investment court, not by a data protection authority or human rights tribunal."</i><p>EFF wrote previously about conflict between TPP and US Copyright Office efforts to improve the situation with Orphan Works,  <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/08/users-ustr-dont-sign-away-our-ability-fix-orphan-works-problem" rel="nofollow">https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/08/users-ustr-dont-sign-a...</a>, <i>"... the Register of Copyrights acknowledges a need to do something about the fact that "orphan works are a frustration, a liability risk, and a major cause of gridlock in the digital marketplace." The report includes a discussion of several proposals that could expand access to orphan works. One proposal is to put limits on the legal consequences for those who do anything technically infringing, in order to make it less daunting to take a chance and use them."</i>