THE CAPTURE OF INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW THROUGH THE U.S. TRADE REGIME

For years, the United States has included intellectual property ('IP') law in its free trade agreements. This Article finds that the IP law in recent U.S. free trade agreements differs subtly but significantly from U.S. IP law. These differences are not the result of deliberate government choices, but of the capture of the US. trade regime. A growing number of voices has publicly criticized the lack of transparency and democratic accountability in the trade agreement negotiating process. This Article reorients the debate over the trade negotiating process away from discussions of democratic accountability to focus instead on the problem of regulatory capture. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ('USTR') is exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act and functionally exempt from the bulk of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This Article identifies examples of this captured paraphrasing, explores its domestic and international consequences, and proposes that Congress reinstate Federal Advisory Committee Act requirements to prevent this capture from continuing. Adapted from the source document.