Original news and analysis on international IP policy
As World Intellectual Property Organization members struggled this week to find consensus on the wording of a potential treaty protecting genetic resources from misappropriation, a side event explored the role of WIPO and the intellectual property system in preventing such misappropriation.
Today a new text was issued for the consideration of the WIPO committee on genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The text is a work in progress, according to the group of delegates tasked with proposing consensual language on a draft…
In the fight against antimicrobial resistance, members of the European Parliament’s Environment and Public Health Committee have advocated banning collective and preventive antibiotic treatment of animals, and supported measures to stimulate research into new antibiotics, including longer data protection.
In response to the concerns about industry lobbying voiced by civil society recently at a symposium on agricultural biotechnologies, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director general insists on the UN agency’s neutrality.
World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are discussing ways to protect genetic resources from misappropriation and ensure that those resources, when their access has been agreed - if exploited commercially - open up rights to the sharing of benefits from this exploitation. Negotiators yesterday discussed what type of instrument might be agreed, and debated a proposal to require disclosure of origin of genetic material.
The World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on policy solutions to protect genetic resources and traditional knowledge from misuse and misappropriation resumed its work today after a year hiatus. The newly elected chair, from Australia, issued an indicative methodology and programme for the week.
An international symposium on how agricultural biotechnologies can benefit small farmers organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation is taking place this week. Small farmers and civil society raised concerns about the influence of agribusiness on FAO policies, as the ghost of a 2010 conference and farmers’ ire lingers.
The European Patent Office (EPO) and Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) will cooperate more closely in the area of plant-related patents and plant variety rights, they said on 11 February.
After a hiatus of one year, the WIPO Committee working on the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore against misappropriation resumes its work next week. The subject is touchy, with most developing countries asking for legal protection, while some developed countries do not want to consider binding rules. Disagreement already arose at the end of 2015 over interpretation of the committee's mandate, freshly approved in October.
The International Plant Treaty, which established a global system to make available genetic materials for main agricultural crops for farmers, plant breeders and scientists, and in exchange provide a system of benefit sharing, has been struggling to find ways to be financially sustainable for some time. This year, the treaty will work on ways to do that, including in devising a subscription system that would reach a twin goal: avoiding non-payment of voluntary contributions, and ensuring a sustainable and predictable income stream. In addition, a global consultation on farmers’ rights is planned, and work should be ongoing on a global information system allowing more visibility for plant genetic material for food and agriculture.