Developed nations veto trips talks
Developed countries, including Japan, Korea, the US, Australia and New Zealand, are continuing to oppose India’s attempts to start negotiations on amending the Trips Agreement to make stricter provisions for checking bio-piracy and usurping of tr...
By Amiti Sen, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Developed countries, including Japan, Korea, the US, Australia and New Zealand, are continuing to oppose India���s attempts to start negotiations on amending the Trips Agreement to make stricter provisions for checking bio-piracy and usurping of traditional knowledge. In a recent meeting of the Trips Council, the countries said that amending the Trips Agreement will not solve the problem of bio-piracy and erroneous patenting.
According to a source in the World Trade Organization (WTO), India, Brazil, Peru and other developing countries kept pressing for WTO members to agree as part of the ���horizontal modalities package��� that their proposal to amend the Trips Agreement will be negotiated.
The ���horizontal modalities package��� is a reference to members��� plans to try to strike a deal simultaneously in the coming month or so on blueprints for the final outcome on several subjects currently being negotiated, particularly agriculture and non-agricultural market access.
WTO members are trying to strike a deal on modalities for further opening up of the areas being negotiated under the ongoing Doha round in the next couple of months. The idea is to have the structure of the deal in place before the US temporarily opts out of the negotiations due to the forthcoming presidential elections in the country.
If members agree to negotiate amending the agreement, India, Brazil and their allies want the amendment to oblige countries to write into their laws a requirement for patent applicants to disclose the origins of biological materials and traditional knowledge used in their inventions, sources said.
The countries also want evidence to be provided showing the applicants had received consent to research the materials and that the benefits of the inventions would be shared with the relevant local communities or authorities. Most developed countries, however, are not ready yet to accept the proposal and consider negotiating and amendment to the Trips Agreement.
Developing countries like India have been victims of bio-piracy with entities from developed countries attempting to patent properties of items known to the people in developing countries and least developed countries for generations.
The group pressing for an amendment in the Trips Agreement argues that since disclosure was part of the convention on bio-diversity (CBD) agreement and the mandate for the ongoing Doha round of negotiations at the WTO provided for a correlation between Trips and CBD, there was a strong case for amending Trips.
According to a source in the World Trade Organization (WTO), India, Brazil, Peru and other developing countries kept pressing for WTO members to agree as part of the ���horizontal modalities package��� that their proposal to amend the Trips Agreement will be negotiated.
The ���horizontal modalities package��� is a reference to members��� plans to try to strike a deal simultaneously in the coming month or so on blueprints for the final outcome on several subjects currently being negotiated, particularly agriculture and non-agricultural market access.
WTO members are trying to strike a deal on modalities for further opening up of the areas being negotiated under the ongoing Doha round in the next couple of months. The idea is to have the structure of the deal in place before the US temporarily opts out of the negotiations due to the forthcoming presidential elections in the country.
If members agree to negotiate amending the agreement, India, Brazil and their allies want the amendment to oblige countries to write into their laws a requirement for patent applicants to disclose the origins of biological materials and traditional knowledge used in their inventions, sources said.
The countries also want evidence to be provided showing the applicants had received consent to research the materials and that the benefits of the inventions would be shared with the relevant local communities or authorities. Most developed countries, however, are not ready yet to accept the proposal and consider negotiating and amendment to the Trips Agreement.
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Developing countries like India have been victims of bio-piracy with entities from developed countries attempting to patent properties of items known to the people in developing countries and least developed countries for generations.
The group pressing for an amendment in the Trips Agreement argues that since disclosure was part of the convention on bio-diversity (CBD) agreement and the mandate for the ongoing Doha round of negotiations at the WTO provided for a correlation between Trips and CBD, there was a strong case for amending Trips.
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