US concocts TPP rules that mimic ACTA laws

The US government is attempting to bring a renamed version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that aims to fight piracy to countries such as Australia, Brunei, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), its intellectual property content is drafted by the US. It follows the DMCA's laws regarding digital locks, ISP liability and subscriber disconnections, but adds a number of its own rules.

The intellectual property chapter (PDF) was leaked online yesterday and its contents are referred to by Canadian law professor Michael Geist as having "everything [the US] wanted in ACTA but didn't get." The Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) draft would bring harsh international anti-piracy measures, though it hasn't yet been approved.

"The US envisions using the TPP to export its copyright law to as many countries as possible while creating backdoor changes to its own domestic laws," Geist added.

The draft maintains that every country that undertakes it must create "legal incentives for [Internet] service providers to cooperate with copyright owners in deterring the unauthorized storage and transmission of copyrighted materials." Repeat offenders have to be cut off by ISPs. DRM bypasses are allowed only if the offender runs a library or for good-faith security and privacy research.

Those with gear that would record, transmit or copy a motion picture in a "public motion picture exhibition facility" (read movie theater) would face criminal penalties. Just offering a file through BitTorrent, even if no one downloads it, would also be grounds for a lawsuit. [via ArsTechnica]

By Electronista Staff