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Thank you for listening to Congressional Dish! 

Jan 17, 2016

Need drugs? The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an international treaty that Congress needs to approve. In this episode, find out how the TPP would affect your access to medicine. Would this treaty provide you access to life-saving drugs or would it provide the pharmaceutical industry excessive profits?

 


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Trans-Pacific Partnership Text

Not impressed Congress did not stand when President Obama told them to pass the TPP


Hearing Highlighted in this Episode

TPP Issue Analysis - Access to Medicines, House Ways and Means Committee (Democrats), December 8, 2015.

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Witnesses


Intellectual Property Chapter Highlights

  • Article 18.7: Forces all TPP countries to "ratify or accede to" six international treaties if they haven't done so already

  • Article 18.26: Trademark protections will be valid for 10 years

  • Article 18.37: Patents will be available for "new uses of a known product, new methods of using a known product, and new processes of using a known product."

    • Exclusions:
      • Countries can individually exclude surgical methods for the treatment of animals or humans, plants, animals, and biological processes for producing plants and animals from patentability
  • Article 18.52: Patents for biologics will be for a minimum of five years

  • Article 18.63: Copyright terms for performances or phonograms will be the life of the author plus 70 years. If the producer is a company, the copyright protecton will last for 70 years.


Sound Clip Sources


Additional Reading


Music Presented in This Episode


Cover Art

Design by Only Child Imaginations

OCI