Twelve countries signed the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership Agreement “TPP” on October 9, 2015.
TPP is an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP or P4), which was signed by Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore in 2005. In 2008, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Vietnam joined the TPP.
It is a matter of time before the twelve countries ratify the agreement. Canada has been quietly changing its IP laws since 2014 to comply the IP provisions of the TPP.
You may download the full-text of the IP Chapter of the TPP at: http://trademarkpro.ca/docs/tpp/WikiLeaks-TPP-IP-Chapter-051015.pdf
TPP:
Articles of the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership Agreement (TPP), to which Canada is a signatory, provides:
TPP Article QQ.A.9: {National Treatment}
1. In respect of all categories of intellectual property covered in this Chapter, each Party shall accord to nationals of the other Party treatment no less favorable than it accords
to its own nationals with regard to the protection of such intellectual property rights.
2. With respect to secondary uses of phonograms by means of analog communications
and free over-the-air broadcasting and other non-interactive communications to the public,
however, a Party may limit the rights of the performers and producers of the other Party to
the rights its persons are accorded within the jurisdiction of the other Party.
3. A Party may derogate from paragraph 1 in relation to its judicial and administrative
procedures, including requiring a national of the other Party to designate an address for
service of process in its territory, or to appoint an agent in its territory, provided that such
derogation is:
(a)necessary to secure compliance with laws and regulations that are
not inconsistent with this Chapter; and
(b) not applied in a manner that would constitute a disguised restriction on
trade.
4.Paragraph 1 does not apply to procedures provided in multilateral agreements
concluded under the auspices of WIPO relating to the acquisition or maintenance of
intellectual property rights.
TPP Article QQ.A.10: {Transparency}
1. Further to Article ZZ.2 {Publication} and QQ.H.3.1 {Enforcement Practices With Respect to Intellectual Property Rights}, each Party shall endeavor to make available on the Internet its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general
application concerning the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
2.Each Party shall, subject to its national law, endeavor to make available on the
Internet information that it makes public concerning applications for trademarks, geographical indications, designs, patents and plant variety rights.
3. Each Party shall, subject to its national law, make available on the Internet
information that it makes public concerning registered or granted trademarks, geographical
indications, designs, patents and plant variety rights, sufficient to enable the public to
become acquainted with the registration or granted rights.
TPP Article QQ.A.10 bis:
{Application of Agreement to Existing Subject Matter and Prior Acts}
1. Except as it otherwise provides, including in Article QQ.G.8 (Berne 18/TRIPS 14.6), this Chapter gives rise to obligations in respect of all subject matter existing at the date of entry into force of this Agreement that is protected on that date in the territory of
the Party where protection is claimed, or that meets or comes subsequently to meet the
criteria for protection under this Chapter.
2. Except as provided in Article QQ.G.8 (Berne 18/TRIPS 14.6), a Party shall not be
required to restore protection to subject matter that on the date of entry into force of this
Agreement has fallen into the public domain in its territory.
3. This Chapter does not give rise to obligations in respect of acts that
occurred before the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Article QQ.A.11: {Exhaustion of IP Rights}
Nothing in this Agreement prevents a Party from determining whether and under what conditions the exhaustion of intellectual property rights applies under its legal system.
Section B: Cooperation
TPP Article QQ.B.1: {Contact Points for Cooperation}
Further to TT.3 {Contact Points for Cooperation and Capacity Building}, each Party may designate one or more contact points for the purpose of cooperation under this section.
TPP Article QQ.B.2: {Cooperation Activities and Initiatives}
The Parties shall endeavor to cooperate on the subject matter covered by this Chapter, such as through appropriate coordination, training and exchange of information between the intellectual property offices of the Parties, or other institutions as determined by each Party.
Cooperation may cover such areas as:
(a) developments in domestic and international intellectual property policy;
(b) intellectual property administration and registration systems;
(c) education and awareness relating to intellectual property;
(d) intellectual property issues relevant to:
(i) small and medium-sized enterprises;
(ii) science, technology & innovation activities; and
(iii) the generation, transfer and dissemination of technology.
(e) policies involving the use of intellectual property for research, innovation
and economic growth;
(f) implementation of multilateral intellectual property agreements, such as those concluded or administered under the auspices of WIPO; and
(g) technical assistance for developing countries.
TPP Article QQ.B.3: {Patent Cooperation/Work Sharing}
1. The Parties recognize the importance of improving quality and efficiency in their
patent registration systems and simplifying and streamlining their patent office procedures
and processes for the benefit of all users of the system and the public as a whole.
2. Further to paragraph 1, the Parties shall endeavor to cooperate among their respective patent offices to facilitate the sharing and use of search and examination work of other Parties. This may include:
(a) making search and examination results available to the patent offices of other Parties; and
(b) exchanges of information on quality assurance systems and quality standards relating to patent examination.
3. In order to reduce the complexity and cost of obtaining the grant of a patent, the Parties shall endeavor to cooperate to reduce differences in the procedures and processes of their respective patent offices.
4. Parties recognize the importance of giving due consideration to ratifying or acceding to the Patent Law Treaty; or in the alternative adopting or maintaining procedural standards consistent with the objective of the Patent Law Treaty.
TPP Article QQ.B.x: {Public Domain}
1. The Parties recognize the importance of a rich and accessible public domain.
2. The Parties also acknowledge the importance of informational materials, such as
publicly accessible databases of registered intellectual property rights that assist in the
identification of subject matter that has fallen into the public domain.
TPP Article QQ.B.4:
{Cooperation on Request}
Cooperation activities and initiatives undertaken under this Chapter shall be subject to the
availability of resources, and on request and on terms and conditions mutually agreed upon
between the Parties involved.
….
TPP Article QQ.C.9: {Term of Protection for Trademarks}
Each Party shall provide that initial registration and each renewal of registration of a trademark shall be for a term of no less than 10 years.
TPP Article QQ.C.10: {Non-recordal of a license}
No Party may require recordal of trademark licenses: to establish the validity of the license; or as a condition for use of a trademark by a licensee, to be deemed to constitute use by the holder in proceedings relating to the acquisition, maintenance and enforcement of trademarks.
TPP Article QQ.C.12:{Domain Name Cybersquatting}
1. In connection with each Party’s system for the management of its country-code top-
level domain (ccTLD) domain names, the following shall be available:
(a) an appropriate procedure for the settlement of disputes, based on, or modelled along the same lines as, the principles established in the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, or that is: (i) designed to resolve disputes expeditiously and at low cost, (ii) fair and equitable, (iii) not overly burdensome, and (iv) does not preclude resort to court litigation; and
(b) online public access to a reliable and accurate database of contact information concerning domain-name registrants;
in accordance with each Party’s laws and, where applicable, relevant administrator policies
regarding protection of privacy and personal data.
2. In connection with each Party’s system for the management of ccTLD
domain names, appropriate remedies, shall be available, at least in cases where a person registers or holds, with a bad faith intent to profit, a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark.
Download the full-text of the IP Chapter of the TPP at: http://trademarkpro.ca/docs/tpp/WikiLeaks-TPP-IP-Chapter-051015.pdf to read all of the details.
