Examining the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement

On Nov 13, 2013, a document containing a complete draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement's chapter on Intellectual Property Rights was leaked to the world through the WikiLeaks Web site. The TPP agreement was negotiated in August 2013 between representatives from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Chile, Singapore, Peru, Vietnam, and Brunei in complete secrecy. This article offers a brief overview of the leaked document and its critique, exploring the background to its consideration. The article starts by reviewing existing international intellectual property regimes under the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreements and the recently failed attempt to pass the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which introduces the background to the consideration of the TPP agreement. Next, it offers an overview of the main substantive provisions of the TPP, with an emphasis on the proposals made by the US. Finally, it concludes with some preliminary critiques of the agreement.