Uphill TRIPS
Patents on life forms are unethical, contrary to the principles and cultural norms of various societies, and should be prohibited. This was the crux of the argument advanced by a group of African countries at the trips (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 4-6. The proposal sought to kick-start a review of Article 27.3 (b) of the trips Agreement, which deals with the subject. At the same forum, India mooted a plan on protecting genetic resources and traditional knowledge systems from misappropriation and ‘bad patents’. Viewed against the backdrop of the World Trade Organization’s (wto) forthcoming Cancun ministerial conference, such weighty matters take on a meaningful focus.
The review of the section on life forms began in 1999 with little enthusiasm from the North. Predictably, the December 2002 deadline to finalise the re-evaluation of Article 27.3 (b) and suggest “appropriate action” has passed without any progress. Also referred to as the “biotechnology clause”, it describes subject matter that countries may keep out of the purview of patents. This includes life forms such as plants and animals, as well as biological processes (like conventional breeding) used for their production. At the same time the section obligates member nations to extend patent protection to microorganisms (bacteria, algae or fungi) along with certain non-biological and microbiological production methods (tissue culture or insertion of genes in a plant).
The African group contends that all life forms