Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The year 2016 promises to be rich in debates on plant patenting, protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and biopharmaceuticals. Here are some key issues and dates to watch for.
The treaty on plant genetic resources held its governing body meeting earlier this month with new initiatives to bring financial sustainability to the treaty, in particular to study the possibility of a subscription system to access the treaty’s plant genetic materials. Also, the Governing Body approved the first work programme of a global information system, which includes an initiative to enhance the use of gene bank materials, to the dismay of farmers’ organisations.
The governing body of the international plant treaty is holding its annual meeting this week with a number of issues to go through, in particular the adoption of the next biennium budget, and the funding strategy of the treaty.
A conference involving European governments and industry on how to comply with the new European Union rules on access and benefit sharing, organised by the International Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the agriculture industry, is taking place this week in Paris. Seemingly contrary to the subject of access and sharing, the event is closed to the public and media.
A new paper by a Norwegian researcher finds that recent legislation efforts on plant variety protection in Africa go beyond the requirements of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
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“IP is a very crucial part of our business and I can’t imagine being in biotech without a very strong emphasis on intellectual property,” a biotech industry executive said during a panel organised at the World Intellectual Property Organization yesterday.
KAMPALA, UGANDA -- Member states of African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) have adopted a protocol for the protection of new varieties of plants. The measure is aimed at modernising African agricultural practices, but some say it comes at the expense of age-old traditional farming practices, such as saving and re-using seed.
MUNICH -- Just days before leaders of the Group of 7 (G7) industrialised countries gather in the well-guarded Bavarian Castle Elmau, a broad coalition of organisations invited free trade critics to an International Summit for Alternatives in Munich. Speaking there, Jean Ziegler, well-known former UN rapporteur for the right to food, shrugged off the possible effects of the G7 Summit.
An industry proposal calling for a harmonised procedure to simplify applications for new varieties of plants and heighten intellectual property protection stirred debate at the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) last month.