Japan's Upper House Approves TPP-11 Bill For Freer Trade While Extending Copyright Duration

The Japan Diet's Upper House passed laws regarding the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) revision (without the USA; often called "TPP-11") on June 29, paving the way for the TPP-11 to affect trade and IP around the Pacific Rim. The Japanese government has stated its intent to urge other countries considering the TPP-11 to hurry to pass the bill in their countries so that it may go into effect this year.

For IP concerns, beyond reducing tariffs, copyright law change is noteworthy. Interestingly, the proposal to extend copyright protection beyond the author or composer's death from fifty to seventy years, which was partly a move to fit the American laws, has been retained even though the United States government has withdrawn from the TPP agreement, at least for now. This change reverses the earlier plan of the adjusted TPP-11 last year. The bill also aims to crack down harder on pirated movies and manga comics.