Crs Report for Congress: Intellectual Property and the Free Trade Agreements

ISBN-10: 129302175X
ISBN-13: 9781293021750
Series: Crs Report for Congress
Pages: 28
Language: English
Published: 2013-10
Publisher: BiblioGov
Authors: John R. Thomas, Congressional Research Service: The Libr

Description

The United States has recently entered into a number of Free Trade Agreements, or FTAs, with Australia, Chile, Singapore, and other trading partners. Negotiations are currently ongoing with respect to the establishment of additional FTAs. In keeping with a congressional directive established in the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Act of 2002, P.L. 107-210, one objective of forming the FTAs is to establish "a standard of [intellectual property] protection similar to that found in United States law." As a result, most of the FTAs stipulate minimum levels of protection with respect to copyrights, data protection, patents, trademarks, and other forms of intellectual property. These standards relate to such provisions as the term of protection, scope of rights, and mechanisms by which these intellectual property rights are acquired and enforced. The different FTAs vary in their comprehensiveness and level of detail. Each of these agreements has nonetheless been drafted in a manner that complies with current U.S. law. As a result, the effect of each FTA is to obligate signatories to such agreements to amend their intellectual property laws to match or resemble those of the United States. The FTAs have been described as an effective mechanism for advancing U.S. interests in securing ...