The full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) was recently made available online by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (New Zealand acts as Depositary for the TPP under Article 77 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties).
The TPP is an international free trade agreement concluded, though yet to be signed, by 12 countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States of America and Vietnam; together, Parties).
Canada’s previous government anticipated that the TPP would be ratified by Canada on or before January 2018. However, with the recent election of a new Canadian government, this timeline may be revised.
The TPP addresses a range of trade barriers and includes provisions intended to harmonize the Parties’ respective intellectual property (IP) regimes. E-TIPS® newsletter briefly reported on the previously leaked version of the TPP’s draft IP provisions in October.
The intellectual property chapter of the TPP contains a number of noteworthy provisions. While most of these provisions would have a greater impact on the IP regimes of the Asian and South American Parties, some provisions would significantly impact Canadian law.
For a review of the IP provisions of the TPP, click here.
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