TPP Must Strengthen Trade Secrets Protection and Enforcement, Says NAM
The Intellectual Property (IP) chapter in a final Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal must ensure trade secret protection and violation enforcement, along with extended regulatory data protection for biologic medicines and traditional pharmaceutical products, said National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Senior Director, Christopher Moore, in a Nov. 19 post (here). Improvement of trade secret domestic laws and international agreement provisions are critical, due to the ever-increasing value of trade secret protection, said Moore.
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“Trade secrets are often subject to much weaker legal protections than other intangible assets. Once disclosed, their value cannot be recovered,” said Moore. “In recent years, trade secrets misappropriation has risen rapidly due to greater global workforce mobility, increased international competition and the proliferation of digital devices that multiply opportunities for cyber theft.” The U.S. Cyber Command believes trade secret theft is costing U.S. businesses $250 billion annually, said Moore.
The TPP must provide a minimum of 12 years of regulatory data protection of biologic medicines that build on the commitments included in the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, a pact that took effect in 2012, said Moore. The protections will incentivize innovation time and resource expenditure, said Moore. “Biologic medicines are highly complex and challenging to manufacture. They present unique considerations relative to other medicines containing traditional chemical active ingredients -- both with respect to regulatory approval and effectively intellectual property rights protection,” said Moore. “Recognizing the value of innovative industries and providing a minimum level of protection would benefit countries and citizens across the Asia-Pacific region. Taken together, those countries currently have over 6,000 medicines in development. That figure includes the United States and Canada, and also Peru, Vietnam and Malaysia.”
U.S. negotiations are convening in Salt Lake City this week to hash out IP provisions, among other unresolved issues (see 13110110). The Obama Administration continues to target the conclusion of negotiations with the 12 TPP participant nations by the end of 2013 (see 13111516). WikiLeaks on Nov. 13 published a secret TPP IP chapter, allegedly disseminated at a summit in late August (see 13111323). Moore called the leak the “most boring scoop ever” but beneficial nonetheless because it “put the spotlight in the right place.”