In our September 2014 newsletter, we wrote about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This is an international initiative, being negotiated in secret, which will have far-reaching impacts in many areas of trade, copyright, and more.
We urge all fans of Project Gutenberg to learn about this initiative, and speak with lawmakers and others about your concerns. Spread the word to your friends and family, who might not be aware of the downward pressure on wages and job security that the TPP would bring about.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an article describing the disastrous effects of copyright term extensions, which will be extended under the TPP to match or exceed copyright terms in the United States.
Readers in countries with Project Gutenberg affiliates will be particularly interested in this article. Australia, Canada, Great Britain, some nations in Europe, and elsewhere would extend copyright terms if the TPP were to be enacted. This would largely halt growth of the public domain, as happened in the United States in 1998.