Without a doubt, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) is a very big deal. It is arguably “one of the most ambitious free trade agreements ever signed.” The TPP is a pact amongst twelve counties that aims to deepen economic ties by reducing and removing tariffs and by forging compromises on a wide range of trade related matters. The TPP, a near six-thousand page agreement, is divided into thirty chapters. The public has differing views on whether this extensive agreement is good or bad for their countries. They contrast most on the provisions in Chapter 18, the chapter focusing on Intellectual Property, which has received some of the most attention as of yet. The Office of the United States Trade Representative claims that the provisions in Chapter 18 “will make it easier for businesses to search, register, and protect IP rights in new markets” by creating strong enforcement systems that aim to protect the copyrights, patents, and the…
↧