4 August 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Zack Struver
+1 (202) 332-2670
zack.struver@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International Leaks TPP Text on Intellectual Property
Tuesday, August 4th, 2015
Today, August 4, 2015, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) released text from three sections of the 95-page secret negotiating text on the Intellectual Property Chapter being used in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP, sometimes referred to as TPPA) trade negotiations. The negotiating text is dated May 11, 2015, and reflects the state of the text right before the Maui rounds of the negotiation, which ended Friday, July 31, 2015.
Released this morning is text from the following sections of the IP Chapter:
- All of Section B on Cooperation. (Pages 8 to 10 of the IP Chapter)
- All of Section E on “Patents / Undisclosed Test or Other Data / Traditional Knowledge.” (Pages 29 to 53 of the IP Chapter)
- Articles 1 through 11 from Section H on enforcement. (Pages 67 through 89 of the IP Chapter)
We hope to release the remaining sections (A, C, D, F, G, and the rest of H) later today and Wednesday.
The text will be placed on this web page: /tpp/11may2015-ip-text
The text released this morning is most relevant to issues related to pharmaceuticals, especially rules on biologics and new chemicals. Later today or tomorrow, KEI will release sections of the text relevant to copyright and trademarks.
KEI will publish a more detailed analysis of the text later. James Love, Director of Knowledge Ecology International, released the following statement this morning:
“KEI is publishing the consolidated text for the TPP IP Chapter from May 11, 2015, in order to enable the public to understand, analyze, and influence the rules that have been proposed for intellectual property in this important trade negotiation. Over 600 corporate advisors already have access to this text, and this leak, at least temporarily, levels the field somewhat (there will be a new text coming out of last week’s talks in Maui).
The May 11, 2015, text includes country positions, and reveals extensive disagreements among parties, as well as the isolation of the United States as the country that continues to be the most aggressive supporter of expanded intellectual property rights for drug companies, publishers and other companies.
The proposals contained in the TPP will harm consumers and in some cases block innovation. In countless ways, the Obama Administration has sought to expand and extend drug monopolies and raise drug prices. The astonishing collection of proposals pandering to big drug companies make more difficult the task of ensuring access to drugs for the treatment of cancer and other diseases and conditions.
The widely reported dispute over the number of years of protection for biologic drug test data is only one of dozens of measures that significantly expand the power of big drug companies to charge high prices. Taken together these provisions will take the public down a road of more and more rationing of medicines, and less and less equality of access. It could have and still can be different. Rather than focusing on more intellectual property rights for drug companies, and a death-inducing spiral of higher prices and access barriers, the trade agreement could seek new norms to expand the funding of medical R&D as a public good, an area where the United States has an admirable track record, such as the public funding of research at the NIH and other federal agencies. Many people reading the provisions released today will appreciate how misguided and wrong are the USTR’s values and negotiating objectives.”
James Love, Director, KEI, August 4, 2015
For more information and perspectives, we are also attaching the names and contact information for several persons who can comment on the text released this morning, including health and consumer group NGOs, academics, and industry experts.
Health and consumer group NGOs
Knowledge Ecology International
James Love, Director, +1.202.361.3040, james.love@keionline.org
Andrew S. Goldman, Counsel for Policy & Legal Affairs, +1.202.332.2670, andrew.goldman@keionline.org
Thiru Balasubramaniam, Geneva Representative, thiru@keionline.org, +41 22 791 6727
Public Citizen
Peter Maybarduk, Director Access to Medicine Program, +1.202.588.7755, pmaybarduk@citizen.org
Burcu Kilic, Research Director, Access to Medicine Program, +1.202.588.7792, bkilic@citizen.org
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
Judit Rius Sanjuan, U.S. Manager & Legal Policy Adviser, Access Campaign, T: +1.212.655.3762, M: +1.917.331.9077, Judit.Rius@newyork.msf.org
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Richard Elliott, Executive Director, +1.416.595.1666 (ext. 229), RElliott@aidslaw.ca
Academics
Professor Susan K. Sell
Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
T: (202) 994-4896
susan.sell@gmail.com
Professor Kevin Outterson
Boston University School of Law
mko@bu.edu
Dr. Deborah Gleeson
Department of Public Health
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia
T: +61 3 9479 3262
M: +61 423 209029
deborah@gleeson.net
Professor Margot Kaminski
Moritz College of Law
Ohio State University
margot.kaminski@gmail.com
Professor Brook K. Baker
Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy
Northeastern University School of Law
T: (617) 373=3217
M: (617) 259-0760
b.baker@neu.edu
Dr. Ruth Lopert
Department of Health Policy and Management
George Washington University
(202) 415-7726
rlopert@gwu.edu
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experts who are familiar with the TPP IP Chapter
Joseph Damond
Senior Vice President, International Affairs
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
jDamond@bio.org
Members of USTR’s Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITAC)
ITAC 15: Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights
Gregg H. Alton, Esq.
Executive Vice President, Corporate and Medical Affairs, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Paul A. Coletti
Associate Patent Counsel
Johnson & Johnson
Erik H. Iverson, Esq.
President, Business and Operations
Infectious Disease Research Institute
Mr. Richard H. Kjeldgaard
Consultant
Representing Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Jeffrey P. Kushan, Esq.
Sidley Austin
Representing Biotechnology Industry Organization
Jonathan L. Marks, Esq.
Vice President, International Affairs
Generic Pharmaceuticals Association
ITAC 3: Industry Trade Advisory Committee On Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Health/Science Products And Services
Ms. Tiffany McCullen Atwell
Director, International Government Affairs
DuPont Government Marketing and Government Affairs
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
Mr. Harrison C. Cook
Vice President, International Government Affairs
Eli Lilly and Company
Mr. Ralph F. Ives
Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Analysis
AdvaMed: Advanced Medical Technology Association
Mr. Maurice J. Kerins
President
Airmed Biotech, Inc.
Douglas T. Nelson, Esq.
Senior Advisor for Trade, Intellectual Property and Strategic Affairs
CropLife America
Mr. Paul A. Neureiter
Executive Director, Government Affairs
Amgen Inc.
Mr. James R. Plante
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Pathway Genomics
Ms. Lisa M. Schroeter
Global Director, Trade and Investment Policy
The Dow Chemical Company