Statement of Public Interest Principles for Copyright Protection under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Volume 48, Issue 3, pp 334–337
University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 2017/013
11 Pages Posted: 6 Jul 2017 Last revised: 26 Jul 2017
Date Written: February 1, 2017
Abstract
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) aims to conclude a comprehensive agreement that promotes free trade and investment among Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As a hallmark of this proposed agreement, the RCEP Intellectual Property (IP) Chapter will set out a host of minimum standards for IP protection in the sixteen participating countries.
We are deeply concerned about the copyright protection standards proposed for the RCEP IP Chapter. They may cause unintended effects of stifling creativity, free speech, and economic growth. We urge that the new rounds of RCEP negotiations reconsider those standards by applying the following three principles:
1. Integrate the public interest as a core value for copyright negotiations.
2. Increase transparency of negotiations for the public interest.
3. Institute changes in copyright provisions for the public interest.
Guided by these three principles, RCEP negotiations would produce the largest mega-regional free trade agreement to procedurally and substantially protect the public interest in copyrighted works. The RCEP copyright provisions, therefore, stand to benefit nearly 50% of the world’s population, who live in the sixteen RCEP participating countries.
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