[A2k] Countries propose royalty free licenses & NO IP on biological materials

[Sangeeta]

Last week's Intergovernmental Meeting on Virus and Benefit sharing (IGM)
heard several interesting proposals on intellectual property rights. It also
heard the US taking a hardline position on the issue including claiming that
its government offices files patent for the purpose of putting it in the
public domain and stating that the IGM was the not the right forum for
discussing IP.

But now we have the Global Strategy and Plan of Action and there is no way
for the US to say that WHO is not the forum to discuss IP. This point was
made by Brazil.

Proposals

On the Biological Materials being shared:

Brazil proposed that there entities providing or  receiving PIP biological
materials (i.e. the virus and parts thereof) "shall not seek or claim
intellectual property rights over those materials in any form".

[The Chair's text proposed: "shall not assert intellectual property rights
over those materials"]

In relation to the products and processes developed using the PIP biological
materials:

Nigeria proposed that "Institutions, organizations, entities or Member
States inventing patentable processes or products using PIP bioloigcal
materials shall at all times grant royalty-free licenses to developing
countries to use products and processes developed from PIP biological
materials.

Thailand proposed that : "Institutions, organizations, and entities
receiving PIP biological materials shall not seek intellectual property
rights over any method of use, application or specific uses of PIP
biological materials; or over products, processes or other inventions
including vaccines, diagnostics, or pharmaceuticals derived from or
developed using PIP biological materials".

[Original Chair's text was limited to "Institutions, organizations, entities
or Member States inventing patentable processes or products using PIP
bioloigcal materials shall:

(i) at all times, grant royalty free licenses upon request to any
isntitutions, organisation, entity or Member States seeing to use those
processes or products for non-commercial public health research; and

(ii) during a pandemic declared by the World Health Organization, grant
royalty free licenceses to any institution, organization, entity or Member
states to use those processes or products for the production of influenza
vaccines, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.]

Of course the American position on this was the following:

(1) WHO member states participating in the WHO Network will not claim
sovereignty or ownership rights over viruses as found in nature.
(This is amazing, not only because of the double stds that US practices i.e.
It wishes the originating country to relinquish sovereignty and yet allow
its own institutions to claim IP but also US itself agrees that it has no
sovereign rights over its own biological materials.....it is not clear this
position has been thought through by the US)

(2) US claimed that in order for there to be technology transfer it is
common for public sector entity to see a patent on product or technology for
the express purpose it remains in the public domain so that it permits
transfer. (In short US is saying that its entities' patents and then places
the patented invention in the public domain....so if patents are not
allowed, they cannot put it in the public domain......What a load of
nonsense!!!)

(4) US being cornered on this issue said that the IGM/PIP was not the forum
for discussing IP issues

Brazil called US argument for what it was 'fallacious"

Brazil pointed out that the Global Strategy and Plan of Action had
strengthened WHO's mandate on IP issues thus it was the right forum to
discuss IP.

It was also most interesting for participants present at the meeting to
watch the Chair of the IGM/PIP Jane Halton of Australia....keep badgering
developing countries on IP issues as they made their proposals in the hope
that they would drop their proposals, insisting that they did not understand
the issue.

More details of the discussions that took place at IGM will be posted soon.

Sangeeta
Third World Network