By Erin Mershon
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative-Intellectual Property and Innovation Stan McCoy is optimistic that negotiators of the Trans-Pacific Partnership can come to a "world-class result" for "strong and balanced" intellectual property protection, despite ongoing debate over the rigidity of those protections, he said Thursday. The countries negotiating the treaty are committed to reaching an agreement, he said, saying he believes the negotiations can conclude this year.
"We've got countries around the table in the TPP community who are really dedicated, both in terms of the resources and the substantive outcome, and I think there's a wide appreciation among TPP negotiating parties for the importance of having IP be a part of the strong result here," McCoy said at an Institute for Policy Innovation forum commemorating World Intellectual Property Day.
Industry stakeholders have pushed for strong IP protections in the TPP, but groups including Public Knowledge have voiced concerns over too-restrictive protection (CD Feb 25 p14). McCoy said in February the alarm over IP provisions in the TPP came from a "strain in the public discourse around the Internet that abhors any kind of restriction" (CD Feb 27 p17).
McCoy also highlighted the challenges of negotiating complex treaties like the TPP while retaining a commitment to transparency, at the event Thursday...
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