| Trans Pacific Partnership IP Chapter Posted: 11 Oct 2015 06:55 PM PDT The final draft document for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement intellectual property chapter has apparently been provided by Julian Assange at WikiLeaks. Some highlights: Article QQ.E.1: - Subject to paragraphs 3 and 4, each Party shall make patents available for any invention, whether a product or process, in all fields of technology, provided that the invention is new, involves an inventive step, and is capable of industrial application.
- Subject to paragraphs 3 and 4 and consistent with paragraph 1, each Party confirms that patents are available for inventions claimed as at least one of the following: new uses of a known product, new methods of using a known product, or new processes of using a known product. A Party may limit such processes to those that do not claim the use of the product as such.
- Each Party may exclude from patentability inventions, the prevention within their territory of the commercial exploitation of which is necessary to protect ordre public or morality, including to protect human, animal or plant life or health or to avoid serious prejudice to nature or the environment, provided that such exclusion is not made merely because the exploitation is prohibited by their law. Each Party may also exclude from patentability: diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical methods for the treatment of humans or animals; animals other than microorganisms; and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals, other than non-biological and microbiological processes.
- Each Party may also exclude from patentability plants other than microorganisms. However, consistent with paragraph 1 and subject to paragraph 3, each Party confirms that patents are available at least for inventions that are derived from plants.
Article QQ.E.11: {Publication of Patent Applications} - Recognizing the benefits of transparency in the patent system, each Party shall endeavor to publish unpublished pending patent applications promptly after the expiry of 18 months from the filing date or, if priority is claimed, from the priority date.
- Where a pending application is not published promptly under paragraph 1, Parties shall publish such application or the corresponding patent as soon as practicable.
- Each Party shall provide that an applicant may request the early publication of an application prior to the expiry of the period mentioned in paragraph 1.
Remedies: 6. Each Party shall ensure that its judicial authorities shall have the authority to order a party at whose request measures were taken and who has abused enforcement procedures with regard to intellectual property rights including … patents, copyright and related rights, and industrial designs, to provide the party wrongfully enjoined or restrained adequate compensation for the injury suffered because of such abuse. The judicial authorities shall also have the authority to order the applicant to pay the defendant expenses, which may include appropriate attorney's fees. The provisions on Pharma, Ag, Biotech Data Protection, and Trade Secrets need further analysis. – DC  |
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