TPP Negotiations to Resume This Week in Dallas

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The 12^th round of negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership will be held from May 8-18 in Dallas Texas.   Topics to be covered in the negotiations include patents and enforcement of intellectual property.  U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President for Asian Affairs Tami Overby told inside U.S. Trade that “intellectual property and innovation” will among the Chamber’s top focuses in this round, and that they will “continue to insist that the TPP countries seek a highly ambitious text on intellectual property rights.”

Side events hosted by civil society groups at the Round will include a Public Citizen lunch on Innovation and the TPPA on Marh 10 and a Public Knowledge lunch on Copyright Enforcement: Perspectives of Citizens, Libraries, and Internet Companies to be held on the 11th. 

Last week, New Zealand’s Prime Minister was quoted in the press saying that the U.S. feels strongly about intellectual property in the TPP because “It happens to be the one country in the world that develops the vast bulk of intellectual property and why wouldn’t they want to protect those interests as they look to expand them around the world.”  The U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand quoted GDP and employment statistics from the recent USPTO report on IP intensive industries to highlight the importance of strong IPR protection, which he argued was necessary for 21^st century economies.