[Ip-health] Financial Times: WTO battle looms over patents

[Mike Palmedo]

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1bd0edfe-f58c-11da-bcae-0000779e2340.html

WTO battle looms over patents

By Frances Williams in Geneva
Financial Times
June 6 2006 19:48

Developing countries led by India and Brazil are set on a collision
course with Washington by stepping up their campaign in the World Trade
Organisation to oblige patent applicants to disclose the origin of
inventions using biological resources or traditional knowledge.

India, Brazil, Tanzania, Thailand, Peru and Pakistan last week proposed
an amendment to the WTO=92s intellectual property agreement that would
make such disclosure a condition of receiving the patent. In the event
of failure to comply, existing patents would be revoked or made
unenforceable.

The sponsors say their proposal is needed to stop =93bio-piracy=94 =96 the
exploitation of their genetic resources for drug development without a
fair return to the host communities. But the pharmaceutical industry
says existing rules are adequate and claims that draconian penalties for
non-disclosure would stifle interest in developing new biomedicines.

The proposal, which is expected to attract support from more of the
WTO=92s poorer members in coming weeks, has been made as part of the Doha
global trade round. It may be used as a bargaining chip to set against
the demands of rich countries for concessions elsewhere in the negotiations=
.

The WTO has set a deadline of end-July to make progress on this and a
European Union demand for the extension of rules protecting geographical
names for products other than wines and spirits.

However, Rufus Yerxa, WTO deputy director-general, who is in charge of
consultations on these issues, said last month he did not expect
agreement by the deadline. The US is reportedly backed by Japan,
Australia, South Korea, New Zealand and Canada.

The EU has taken a softer line, favouring disclosure but opposing the
invalidation of patents if disclosure requirements are breached. Trade
experts see this as a move to recruit developing country support on
geographical names, where Brussels faces strong opposition from the US
and the same group of allies as well as much of Latin America.

The proposed amendment would require patent applicants to disclose both
the country from which the resource was obtained and the country of
origin of the resource. They would also have to show that they had
complied with national laws on =93prior informed consent=94 for access to
the resource and on equitable benefit- sharing from its commercial
development.

=93Prior informed consent=94 and equitable benefit-sharing are required by
the United Nations convention on biological diversity, but the
convention leaves it to member countries to decide whether and how to
put these concepts into national law. The US, as a non-signatory, is not
bound by the convention.

Pharmaceutical companies say they already obey national laws, which
normally require a contract with the government, and that only a handful
of bio-piracy cases have been identified. But India and Brazil argue
that without international rules, national laws can be easily evaded.