Trans-Pacific Partnership

IC Magazine asks if the Maori, or the indigenous people of New Zealand, could have their traditional knowledge and cultural customs copyrighted by multinational corporations under a trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Parntership. A draft of the TPP was released by Wikileaks.

The government of New Zealand "clearly opposes the 'informed consent or approval and involvement of the indigenous or local community holding such knowledge', before user rights (and later on copyright and trademark rights) are given to TPP members and their corresponding investors (multinational corporations)," according to IC Magazine.

Ars Technica reports on the leak of draft language of a proposed free trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, between the United States and several other countries, including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Mexico, and Canada.

The draft's proposals include:

* imposing limitations on retransmissions of television signals on the Internet without the authorization of copyright holders (Aereo and its rival FilmOn X say their streaming services don't violate copyright law because they use individual antennas for each customer to retransmit free broadcast TV on-line);

* extending copyright law in other countries to last for the life of the author plus 70 years;

* and a six-strikes regime "that could ultimately lead to customers suspected of copyright piracy being kicked off their ISP."