US NAFTA Negotiating Objectives For IP? Go Big On Digital IP Protection, Fend Off GIs 20/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a set of negotiating objectives for renegotiating the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that include its hopes for elevating intellectual property in the trade deal. Included in the list: force Canada and Mexico to ratify international treaties, accept US law on IP protection and create conditions for “strong” IP enforcement especially online, and ensure ample protection for products with generic names. Perhaps oddly, there is only one mention of trade agreements, which includes respect for a 2001 text at the World Trade Organization on IP and public health. USTR’s November 2017 negotiating objectives are available here [pdf]. In a release, USTR said: “To date, the NAFTA countries have held four rounds of negotiations, with a fifth round being held November 17-21, 2017. During these negotiating rounds, the United States has put forward substantially all of the initial U.S. text proposals, including new text in 27 chapters of NAFTA.” The objectives for intellectual property rights, on page 9 in the document are reprinted below: Promote adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights, including through the following: • Obtain commitments to ratify or accede to international treaties reflecting best practices in intellectual property protection and enforcement. • Provide a framework for effective cooperation between Parties on matters related to the adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. • Promote transparency and efficiency in the procedures and systems that establish protection of intellectual property rights, including making more relevant information available online. • Seek provisions governing intellectual property rights that reflect a standard of protection similar to that found in U.S. law , including, but not limited to protections related to trademarks, patents, copyright and related rights (including, as appropriate, exceptions and limitations), undisclosed test or other data, and trade secrets. • Provide strong protection and enforcement for new and emerging technologies and new methods of transmitting and distributing products embodying intellectual property, including in a manner that facilitates legitimate digital trade, including, but not limited to, technological protection measures. • Ensure standards of protection and enforcement that keep pace with technological developments, and in particular ensure that rights holders have the legal and technological means to control the use of their works through the Internet and other global communication media, and to prevent the unauthorized use of their works. • Prevent or eliminate government involvement in the violation of intellectual property rights, including cyber theft and piracy. • Secure fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory market access opportunities for United States persons that rely upon intellectual property protection. • Prevent or eliminate discrimination with respect to matters affecting the availability, acquisition, scope, maintenance, use, and enforcement of intellectual property rights. • Respect the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, adopted by the World Trade Organization at the Fourth Ministerial Conference at Doha, Qatar on November 14, 2001, and to ensure that trade agreements foster innovation and promote access to medicines. • Prevent the undermining of market access for U.S. products through the improper use of a country’s system for protecting or recognizing geographical indications, including such systems that fail to ensure transparency and procedural fairness, or adequately protecting generic terms for common use. • Provide the means for adequate and effective enforcement of intellectual property rights, including by requiring accessible, expeditious, and effective civil, administrative, and criminal enforcement mechanisms. Such mechanisms include, but are not limited to, strong protections against counterfeit and pirated goods. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Related "US NAFTA Negotiating Objectives For IP? Go Big On Digital IP Protection, Fend Off GIs" by Intellectual Property Watch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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