Leak shows friction in trade talks

TPP files show U.S. unhappy with Canada’s copyright reform

Leaked documents detailing negotiating positions over intellectual property protections in the TransPacific Partnership trade talks show the federal government is resisting U.S. efforts to have Canada roll back many of its recent copyright reforms, says a leading expert on the file.

The vastly differing positions on nearly 100 pages of text in the intellectual property rights chapter of TPP negotiations also show the dozen countries in the trade talks — including Canada — are nowhere close to completing the deal, argues University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, a specialist in intellectual property (IP).

Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks released a copy Wednesday of the draft negotiating positions (as of late August) on the TPP’s intellectual property rights chapter.

It shows the 12 Pacific Rim nations negotiating the mammoth free-trade deal remain far apart on the wording of several IP issues ranging from geographical indications on wine and food, pharmaceutical patent protection, copyright and trademark.

The TPP — which includes Canada, the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — represents a market of 792 million people and combined GDP of $27.5 trillion, or nearly 40 per cent of the global economy.

U.S. President Barack Obama and American trade negotiators hope to complete a deal by the end of the year — a timeline many observers believe is too ambitious and one the documents suggest might be unattainable.

“They’re not even close to a deal. That stands out,” Geist said in an interview. “The notion that somehow they are months away from a deal is clearly not true. It seems to me that it’s closer to years.”

Geist said the documents show the U.S. is essentially trying to create a super anti-counterfeiting trade agreement that would include tougher rules on digital locks and statutory damages, and stronger regulations for Internet service providers. Many of the American proposals are “draconian,” he said.

Adopting grittier regulations proposed by the U. S. would effectively force Canada to rewrite or eliminate many of the copyright reforms the Conservative government adopted last year in new legislation, he added.

“If they (U.S.) were to get their way, and sort of push through with their demands, they’re looking for a near-complete rollback of many of the provisions Canada enacted just a year ago,” he said.

“In many ways, the worst fears that I think a lot of people had about what was happening secretly behind closed doors have been realized with the release of this text.”

A spokesman for International Trade Minister Ed Fast said the government won’t comment on leaked documents.

The Conservative government’s Copyright Modernization Act, adopted in 2012, takes a less aggressive, more consumer-friendly approach to copyright than the United States.

‘In many ways, the worst fears that I think a lot of people had about what was happening secretly behind closed doors have been realized with the release of this text.’

MICHAEL GEIST University of Ottawa law professor

The legislation “recognizes that Canadians should not be liable” for recording TV programs for later viewing and copying music from CDs to MP3 players, according to the federal government.

But the legislation also makes it illegal to break digital locks that content creators such as software producers, and video game and movie distributors often use to protect their work.

The bill also protects Canadians from what the government terms “disproportionate penalties” for minor infringements of copyright.