Wikileaks has obtained one of the chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "trade" agreement that is being negotiated in secret. This leaked section is the about patents and intellectual property. Note that this has little or nothing to do with "trade."

The TPP process is set up to lead to a certain kind of agreement that favors corporate interests against the interests of most of us. Groups representing non-corporate stakeholders were kept out of the process. This section of TPP was negotiated with companies that hold patents and copyrights and profit from doing so at the table, while groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, consumer groups, patient protection groups etc. were NOT at the table. So it isn't a surprise to see here the one-sided result of those negotiations.

Here are two examples of what results from this one-sided process.

First, you might remember that efforts to get rid of Net Neutrality and pass the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) failed to make it through our democratic, Constitutional process because people were able to become informed, rally opposition and make their case to stop these terrible things from happening. but this meant that the giant telecommunications corporations lost some power sand profit potential. So TPP becomes a treaty that accomplishes these same corporate goals by going around our democratic, Constitutional process.

Second, there is an argument going on inside TPP negotiations about whether to "carve out" tobacco from the treaty. The way the treaty is currently shaping up tobacco companies will be able to sue governments that try to protect their citizens with anti-smoking efforts. So some countries are trying to "carve out" tobacco from those rules in TPP. Never mind other corporate products that harm people, tobacco gets attention because it kills so many people. But the corporations are resisting this because it sets a precedent of allowing governments to set limits on things corporations can profit from.

I think this second thing should tell people all they need to know about this and similar "trade" agreements. They are really about setting certain giant corporations above government -- and other corporations -- restricting competition and innovation so these giants can stay dominant, and keep democracies and their citizens from meddling in the profit stream.

Fast Track

So if citizens were able to use democracy to fight SOPA and keep Net Neutrality and other things, how can they get TPP through? Here is how: they are trying to convince Congress to pass something called "Fast Track." Fast Track limits the objections Congress can make to this treaty, forces them to vote "up or down" in a hurry, and this will of course happen in the middle of biggest corporate-funded campaign you have ever seen. If you think there is a lot of anti-Obamacare in the news today, or if you think there was a well-orchestrated "run up" to sell the Iraq war, well those are nothing compared to what they will do to sell this one.

Key point: They will try to push through "fast track" and then launch a massively-funded campaign to pass the treaty. If we can block Fast Track we might have a chance to head off this corporate takeover of the world.