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from the which-way-tot-he-chicken-coop dept.
Jim Balsillie of BlackBerry fame has come out against the TPP.
From the CBC article:
Jim Balsillie warns that provisions tucked into the Trans-Pacific Partnership could cost Canada hundreds of billions of dollars — and eventually make signing it the worst public policy decision in the country's history.
After poring over the treaty's final text, the businessman who helped build Research In Motion into a $20-billion global player said the deal contains "troubling" rules on intellectual property that threaten to make Canada a "permanent underclass" in the economy of selling ideas.
...
And unlike legislation passed in Parliament, he noted treaties like this one set rules that must be followed forever. This deal, he added, also features "iron-clad" dispute mechanisms.
"I'm worried and I don't know how we can get out of this," said Balsillie, who's also helping guide the creation of a lobby group that would press for the needs of Canada's innovation sector.
"I think our trade negotiators have profoundly failed Canadians and our future innovators. I really lament it."
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday November 10 2015, @03:27PM
"this" is pretty ambiguous in that sentence. Can you clarify?
(Score: 2) by Tramii on Tuesday November 10 2015, @04:47PM
Pretty sure "this" = the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(Score: 2) by SanityCheck on Tuesday November 10 2015, @04:53PM
You are right. I misread your comment and responded with one that is very ambiguous even thou you didn't share my sentiment :)
I agree with Jim Balsillie in that TPP will be a major blow to innovation overall. And I meant to say that often things like TPP, strong treaties for intellectual property that go far and beyond what I would consider reasonable, have a negative effect on innovation because what they end up doing is protecting entrenched companies. Patents that should have been expired instead become ways for older companies through legalese to steal, legally, new inventions from startups, or keep startups from coming to markets.
However when I read the article I noted that Balsillie is not concerned about the little guy, but rather himself and others like him losing out to US companies. It does read like an incoherent tirade with no specifics. Which is amusing because I guess the only thing corporations really fear is not law, people, or ethics, but competition. I think he can roast in his own manure.
(Score: 2, Touché) by khallow on Tuesday November 10 2015, @06:37PM
However when I read the article I noted that Balsillie is not concerned about the little guy, but rather himself and others like him losing out to US companies. It does read like an incoherent tirade with no specifics. Which is amusing because I guess the only thing corporations really fear is not law, people, or ethics, but competition. I think he can roast in his own manure.
We wouldn't want allies with common ground.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday November 11 2015, @02:25AM
It does read like an incoherent tirade with no specifics.
Exactly. He never mentioned a single thing that could be traced back to the text of the agreement. Now that the whole document is available on line to everyone, it seems odd he can't quote chapter and verse. Certainly in is quick read through it he could have jotted down the sections that unfairly give US companies the advantage. He should be able to point out language that penalizes people just because they are Canadians.
Baisillie says:
"It's a treaty that structures everything forever — and we can't get out of it."
Also from the same article:
"A country can withdraw any time, on six months' notice."
Maybe he thinks withdrawal would trigger trade wars or boycotts or something. But he should be able to point this out as well.
From the limited articles I've seen on the TPP its not as bad we all feared, and contains no new blockbuster items.
http://www.managedcaremag.com/focus/final-text-tpp-has-no-biosimilar-surprises [managedcaremag.com]
http://www.ajpark.com/ip-central/news-articles/2015/10/further-information-about-the-tpp-reveals-a-few-ip-surprises-for-new-zealand/ [ajpark.com]
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/72762771/TPPAs-big-surprise-is-the-lack-of-surprise [stuff.co.nz]
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.