Note: The original version of this paper was posted on October 20, 2015. It was updated on November 10, 2015 taking into account the release of the official TPP text. (eds.)
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement contains an important provision concerning achieving balance in the copyright systems of the twelve countries party to that free trade agreement. This provision was not present in the early draft of the agreement. Then, in July 2012, the United States proposed language that formed the basis of the text of the provision. This language subsequently was strengthened over the next three years to its final form. This paper recounts the evolution of this provision. Because of the lack of transparency of the TPP negotiations, it is difficult to reconstruct a precise timeline of when specific language was proposed, who proposed it, and why. However, a combination of leaked drafts and public statements provides evidence of the provision’s trajectory.
