Way Forward on IP Issues at the WTO Still Unclear
Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, 17 June 2009
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: The WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) met on 8 June 2009, but saw very little, if any, progress towards resolving TRIPS issues in the context of the Doha negotiations. These issues include an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement to require that patent applicants disclose the origin of any genetic resources or traditional knowledge used in the inventions. Originally supported by a number of developing countries, such a proposal has drawn the support of more than 100 WTO Members, including the EU and Switzerland. The USA, joined by Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan, reaffirmed their opposition, with the USA noting that the disclosure requirement is not essential and bringing the CBD into the TRIPS Agreement would not make sense. According to the report, Australia, Canada and New Zealand suggested the possibility of shifting discussions on the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD to another forum, possibly the World Intellectual Property Organization. Read the article …
