Lamy says bio-piracy concerns will not take Trips forward

NEW DELHI: The developed countries have opposed a proposal by India and eight other developing countries to include rules on checking bio-piracy in the Trips agreement. The members need to continue their focus on technical issues so that they can understand each others��� concerns better and seek an outcome that is practically achievable, said Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Trips, or trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, is an international pact on protection of intellectual property. An India-led group of developing countries, which includes China, Pakistan, Brazil, Tanzania and Colombia, has emphasised that the current Doha round for framing new multilateral trade rules should include amendments on bio-piracy in the Trips agreement.

The disclosure of origin of the biological resource and sharing of benefit with the country of origin of the patented resource should be made part of the Trips agreement, the group has said. Checking bio-piracy through multilateral rules is important for India as individuals and companies in developed countries have been patenting properties of biological resources used in India for generations, a government official in the commerce department said.

The US had granted patents for certain medicinal uses of biological products such as neem and turmeric that have been known in India for centuries. The US government later revoked these patents. ���If we have proper multilateral rules in place for disclosure of origin and benefit-sharing, it will lead to a more just global order and reduce disputes,��� the official said on condition of anonymity.

Several developed countries such as Australia, Canada and Switzerland, led by the US, are against such an amendment in Trips and want the issue to be resolved through other means. Mr Lamy, in a special open session on his discussions on the issue with members since March this year, said the members agree that misappropriation of genetic material and traditional knowledge is a problem to be tackled. However, they remain divided on whether the solution lies in amending Trips agreement to require disclosure or in some other method, he said.

Mr Lamy said he would call another meeting on the bio-piracy issue with key countries on October 8.