FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
MEDIA TALKING POINTS
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Subject:
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Limitations and Exceptions Leaked Text
Date/Version: 6 August 2012, version 1
Talking Points
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We are aware of allegedly leaked text on copyright limitations and exceptions from the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).
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Due to our confidentiality obligations, we cannot comment on text, however Australia
supports a high-quality, balanced intellectual property chapter in the TPP
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Australia’s position in the intellectual property chapter has been, and continues to be,
informed by a wide range of stakeholder views and perspectives.
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Copyright limitations and exceptions are still very much under negotiation
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revised text on copyright limitations and exceptions has been tabled as recently as the
last round, in July
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Australia is giving careful consideration to all proposals
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and there is still a way to go.
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It is important to remember that the chapter has not been agreed
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all parties are engaging in a negotiation process
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it is not a given that any particular piece of text currently on the table will be
included in the final agreement.
If asked: Why is Australia presenting ‘very restrictive text’ in the TPP?
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Australia is not presenting ‘very restrictive text’ in the TPP, as claimed by Knowledge
Ecology International
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Australia supports copyright limitations and exceptions in the TPP that are consistent
with our
existing international obligations
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and we would not accept an outcome in the TPP that reduces the scope of
copyright limitations and exceptions provided under international agreements to
which Australia is a party.
If asked: Is Australia’s position in the TPP seeking to prejudge the outcome of the ALRC’s
Inquiry into Copyright and the Digital Economy?
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No. Australia would not accept an outcome in the TPP that
reduces our present flexibility to enact copyright limitations and exceptions
in Australian domestic law as provided under
international agreements to which Australia is a party
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including in relation to the digital environment
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these limitations and exceptions are essential for maintaining a balanced
intellectual property system in the 21st century.
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