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The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA, although sometimesabbreviated to TPP) is a controversial international tradeagreement which is currently undergoing negotiations. While the text of the agreement has not been made public, it hasbeen speculated that it will include provisions on intellectualproperty and copyright (Australia's current copyright laws are undergoing reform ). What is the TPPA? The TPPA is an agreement between Australia, Brunei, Chile,Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam. The aimof the agreement is to open up trade between member countries. Thetext of the agreement has been shrouded in secrecy, with HamishMcCormick, lead TPPA negotiator for Australia, recently stating atan estimates hearing that Australia s foreign minister, Bob Carr,has not yet seen any negotiating texts. it is not an agreement that is on the table for anybody to havea look at It is not something that exists physically where youcan say, 'Here, have a look at the text.' That is not the way thesenegotiations proceed, McCormick said. While a draft copy of some of the text of the TPPA was leaked tothe public, McCormick stated any discussion about what exactly isin the text was purely speculation and will continue to bespeculation until negotiations conclude. What I can say is that we are not proposing to change ourintellectual property system, and we are not proposing that therewould be changes as a result of the TPP to our IP system as awhole, McCormick said. How will it benefit Australia? According to McCormick, the TPPA will benefit Australia because itis a free trade agreement and an important aspect of multilateraltrade liberalisation. It is expected the TPPA will help open upexport opportunities for Australia. It is also expected to open uptrade between Australia and Peru, which does not have an existingbilateral trade arrangement, allowing the export of Australiandairy products and mining services to the country. Why has the agreement been criticised? Critics have described the TPPA as ACTA on steroids — referring to the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement — and has resulted in protests around the world, including in Australia . While the text of the TPPA has not yet been disclosed, ElectronicFrontiers Australia secretary Kim Heitman says it is likely tocover temporary copies, such as internet caches and RAM incomputers. It is also seeking to end parallel imports, presumeguilt in copyright infringement claims and introduce a three-strikerule to throw offenders off the internet. "[C]ontent owners are doing their bit to ensure that the TPP wouldcontain IP provisions that aggressively protect their interests atthe expense of the rest of ours," argued Rashmi Rangnath, staff attorney at Public Knowledge, a US-basedgroup that advocates for internet openness and consumer rights withregard to copyright. According to Rangnath, a leaked paper by the US Business Coalitionfor TPPA included advocacy for longer copyright terms, strictprovisions on the circumvention of digital locks (DRM) and US-stylestatutory damages for copyright infringement. Some criticism has also targeted the secrecy of the negotiations.Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has persistently stated the text should be made public , while the Pirate Party has said there is something very wrong with the negotiation of thisagreement when an effort of transparency means releasing a draftthat is over one year old . Where is it at now? Negotiations began for the TPPA in March 2010, with 12 rounds ofnegotiations having taken place so far. The 12th round was held8-18 May in Dallas. These recent talks covered topics such as intellectual property, competitioninvestment, e-commerce, telecommunications, technical barriers totrade, market access and financial services. The 13th round will be held in San Diego 2-10 July. This stage ofthe negotiations will allow stakeholders to speak one-on-one withnegotiators and provide their views on the TPPA. When will the TPPA take effect? McCormick stated at the estimates hearing that negotiators arehoping to complete the TPPA text later this year. Three othercountries Japan, Mexico and Canada have also shown interestin being part of the agreement, with a decision to be made laterthis year as to whether country membership of the agreement will beexpanded, according to McCormick. Follow Stephanie McDonald on Twitter: @stephmcdonald0 Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Manual Recliner Manufacturer , Seat Slide Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Sliding Seat today!
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