NZ made sneaky change to TPP says EFF

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gzt

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#192108 27-Feb-2016 11:08

The EFF says NZ made a one word change to the overall TPP which will increase the application of penalties including imprisonment:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/02/sneaky-change-tpp-drastically-extends-criminal-penalties

Before:

With regard to copyright and related rights piracy provided for under paragraph 1, a Party may limit application of this paragraph to the cases in which there is an impact on the right holder’s ability to exploit the work, performance or phonogram in the market.

After:

With regard to copyright and related rights piracy provided for under paragraph 1, a Party may limit application of this subparagraph to the cases in which there is an impact on the right holder’s ability to exploit the work, performance or phonogram in the market.

EFF: As of the date of writing, the text excerpted at the top of this page is still the version of the text found on the United States Trade Representative (USTR) website. However on January 26, a slightly different version was uploaded to the website of the official host of the agreement, New Zealand.

Anyway, the EFF article does not explain if this change has any legal effect or which version was actually signed, or if it means that a different version will be ratified later down the track. There has been talk of amendments etc so I guess it is plausible.

Either way I do not recall penalties being discussed here before, so I'm curious to know if in the TPP NZ will implement new copyright penalties in general.

I would prefer to avoid making this a movie/music filesharing discussion. Imo the effect on the arts and manufacturing is more general.

tieke

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#1500314 27-Feb-2016 11:20

The topic heading isn't correct - the change wasn't initiated by the New Zealand government, it's just that we started the agreement so host the official copy.

Lawyers etc are going over the TPP and cleaning up ambiguities and language - they may have thought they were doing so here but as the article makes clear it actually changes the meaning of the original statement. It's always possible this will be changed again as the EFF have drawn attention to it.

Geektastic

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#1500334 27-Feb-2016 13:00

I hope it affects all kinds of copyright and not just that for films or music, which seem to be the only two kinds anyone speaks about these days.

gzt

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#1500743 28-Feb-2016 13:28

tieke:
The topic heading isn't correct - the change wasn't initiated by the New Zealand government, it's just that we started the agreement so host the official copy.

Ok, that's a good point!

tieke:
Lawyers etc are going over the TPP and cleaning up ambiguities and language - they may have thought they were doing so here but as the article makes clear it actually changes the meaning of the original statement. It's always possible this will be changed again as the EFF have drawn attention to it.

It's an interesting process. Imo it indicates there may still be some horse trading continuing behind the scenes.

I think it says something that we really have no clue which way this item could go. I agree and hopefully it will be changed.

I do not want to see a situation where someone ends up in jail for creating a parody video or some other artisitic expression. In either case I suspect our freedom of speech needs strengthening a bit.

sir1963

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#1501461 29-Feb-2016 13:13

Geektastic:

I hope it affects all kinds of copyright and not just that for films or music, which seem to be the only two kinds anyone speaks about these days.

Except for Illegally pirated goods, and illegal goods (contraband) ,

I can import branded clothes/shoes/jewellery from anywhere in the world

I can import books from anywhere in the world

I can import DVDs/Bluerays/CDs from anywhere in the world

I can import Electronics/Computers/Cameras from anywhere in the world

I can import cars from anywhere in the world, so long as they are complaint if I want to drive on the road

So, why can I not import digital goods, ebooks, streaming TV, etc etc etc ?

Why do things have to be physically imported than digitally ?, after all this is what resellers have to do, import the physical or the digital goods.

If I buy something, legally, no mater what it is I should be able to import it.

I am happy to buy stuff, I am simply not happy to pay the markups some retailers believe they are entitled to.

For example, I fitted my whole house out with LED lamps for NZ$6 a hit when lighting stores in NZ were asking $60+ each. And 5 year later they are STILL running.