Australian senators call for TPP transparency

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Australian senators call for TPP transparency

Members of the upper house in Australia’s parliament have called for the government to publish the final text of the trans-Pacific free trade deal before it is signed off by the cabinet

The motion, passed on Wednesday, was introduced by the Green Party and supported by senators from the Labor party.

“[The] result is an important step forward in compelling [prime minister] Tony Abbott to end the secrecy and hidden agendas that have defined his government to date,” said senator Peter Whish-Wilson, Australian Greens spokesperson for trade.

Negotiators from the 12 countries talking part in talks for the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement have been under pressure to release more documents from the negotiations. Some parts of civil society are concerned about attempts to raise minimum standards for IP protection in TPP signatory states, as well as the possibility that they may agree to investor-state dispute settlement provisions.

Tobacco company Philip Morris is suing Australia under investor-state clauses contained in a free trade deal between Australia and Hong Kong over the country’s tobacco plain packaging law.

The issue of excessive secrecy in trade talks is one that has dogged negotiators in a number of recent multi- and bilateral deals, most notably in the recent attempts to pass an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Talks on ACTA collapsed last year.

You can read more about free trade deals and the IP aspects of the TPP in Managing IP’s September issue.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A ruling on confidentiality by the the England and Wales Court of Appeal and an intervention from the US government in the InterDigital v Disney litigation were also among top talking points
Moore & Van Allen hires former Teva counsel Larry Rickles to help expand the firm’s life sciences capabilities
Canadian law firms should avoid ‘tunnel vision’ as exclusive survey reveals client dissatisfaction with risk management advice and value-added services
In major recent developments, the CoA ruled on director liability for patent infringement, and Nokia targeted Paramount at the UPC and in Germany
Niri Shan, the newly appointed head of IP for UK, Ireland and the Middle East, explains why the firm’s international setup has brought UPC success, and addresses German partner departures
Vlad Stanese joins our ‘Five minutes with’ series to discuss potentially precedent-setting trademark and copyright cases and his love for aviation
Heath Hoglund, president of Via LA, discusses how it sets royalty rates and its plans to build on growth in China
Stobbs stands accused of interfering with the administration of justice after Brandsmiths’ client was subjected to an interim injunction for unjustified threats
The firm, known for its prosecution expertise, discusses its plans following the appointment of a UK-based patent litigation head and two new partners
Ed White at Clarivate provides an exclusive insight into the innovation power clusters reshaping Europe and the Middle East’s IP landscape, and why quality is the new currency of invention
Gift this article