And you thought ACTA was bad? Acta 2, or TPP, is much worse.

[thewayne]

If you have a business with extensive intellectual property holdings, the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) is probably a great treaty for you. But just like ACTA, it's being negotiated pretty much in total secrecy. And just like ACTA, it's been leaked.

Some of the provisions would make the U.S. patent (USPTO) a rubber-stamp for applications (which sucks because Congress is actually looking at making some significant improvements there), ISP's would become extensions of Hollywood when it comes to copyright enforcement, parallel import would be banned (no more gray market goods), criminal enforcement would be REQUIRED for DRM circumvention(!). I'm sure there's more lovely stuff in it.

The Techdirt article also has links to more info at the EFF with more details and a list of all Congresscritters in both the House and Senate so you can easily contact them and express displeasure.

I just wish they would try to negotiate this in the open. There's no reason for this to be secret, except for the fact that Hollywood wants to be able to totally side-step the normal method for creating laws and gain a fait accompli over everyone.

Now, as if this isn't bad enough, they want a VERY fast approval: they want it all to be wrapped up in November OF THIS YEAR.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110311/00104713434/us-proposals-secret-tpp-son-acta-treaty-leaked-chock-full-awful-ideas.shtml

https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=471

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/03/11/2134224/Son-of-ACTA-Worse-Than-Original


[EDITED 15-JUNE-2013 TO ADD TOR TAG]

Comments

[silveradept]

Sounds like really good encryption and networks designed to anonymize peer-to-peer transfers are on tap unless someones in the legislation grow a spine and decide that they're okay with pissing off all the Hollywood/Copyright donors.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

There's TOR, The Onion Router, but they intend it specifically to anonymize legitimate traffic and not for P2P. I've thought about installing TOR, I can't download Wikileaks stuff at home or school due to blocking.

I didn't post the article, but Hollywood is posting consistent gains in box office receipts, largely due to 3-D. So movie piracy is hurting them how? The RIAA, however....

[silveradept]

I've thought about TOR, too, but the connection I'm on is probably not a good candidate, and my ISP takes any DMCA reports seriously, to the point of believing hucksters and borderline scam artists when they send things, so having a TOR relay or exit point for me would probably result in bad things.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

I have no interest in illegal downloads, but it ticks me off that I can't download Wikileaks. Maybe I'll install it and go to an internet cafe.