WikiLeaks publishes TPP intellectual property documents

WikiLeaks on Friday released intellectual property sections of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that was not to be made public until later this month.

The whistle-blowing website said it publicized documents in the mega trade deal among Pacific Rim nations because the editors are concerned about its impact on Internet services, patents, publishers and even medicine.

Those sections remain some of the most controversial parts of the TPP, which was negotiated in secret for nearly six years among 12 nations including the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam. Together, the group makes up 40 percent of global gross domestic product.

“If TPP is ratified, people in the Pacific-Rim countries would have to live by the rules in this leaked text,” Peter Maybarduk, a program director at government transparency group Public Citizen, remarked in a statement. “The new monopoly rights for big pharmaceutical firms would compromise access to medicines in TPP countries.”

Activists are concerned measures in the TPP would place new restrictions on generic drugs to please patent holders in the pharmaceutical industry by delaying potential competitors. Generic medicine is usually far less expensive.

“The TPP would cost lives,” Maybarduk added.

The sections also detail that under the TPP copyright law among all member nations would evolve to essentially match current laws in the U.S., meaning copyrights are secured for 70 years after a creator’s death. TPP participant New Zealand announced this measure earlier this week, claiming that the provision would cost the country $37 million annually. 

The leaked documents are dated Oct. 5, the day participating nations announced a deal had been reached.

The full text of the TPP was to be withheld from the public’s eye until after Oct. 19, the day federal election in Canada are scheduled, according to Wikileaks.