-----Original Message-----
From: Biotech-Mod2
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 8:41 AM
To: 'biotech-room2@mailserv.fao.org'
Subject: Re: IPRs and public international agricultural research
[Thanks to Edo Lin for his comments below on Dominic Glover's message. In Section 3 of the Background Document, we highlighted 6 areas that should be considered during the conference. The first one was "What are the impacts of IPRs (positive or negative) for food and agriculture in developing countries" and many of the messages posted in the first week of this conference have considered this area, with the majority emphasising that IPRs have negative impacts for farmers and agricultural research in developing countries. The fifth one was "If some of the impacts or consequences are negative for developing countries, how can they be avoided or alleviated", so this current discussion by Dominic Glover and Edo Lin is very relevant to the conference.......Moderator]
Thanks to Dominic Glover for his contribution [26 March] and the sharing of the ideas of Dr. Gary Toenniessen.
I agree with his assertion that patents have become a reality of life and that they often can hinder the flow of knowledge and material. This hindrance however plays on all levels, and does not only impact developing countries or public research institutes but also plays between commercial entreprises where often promising research has to be abandoned because there is not sufficient "freedom to operate" under a patent held by a competitor. This can be a patent on the essential "tools of the trade", like the particle gun or the 35S promotor, or it can be a tiny piece in a plant metabolic pathway that was patented by somebody else.
I think that therefore, the suggestion of a clearing house for essential technologies, is something to which also the private industry could be open.
I would suggest that there is a role for the Worldbank or the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to take on the role of honest broker.
Edo Lin
27, rte de Bombon
77720 Breau
France
tel & fax : +33 164397844
mobile : +33 671632666
e-mail : lin.edo@free.fr
[To contribute to this conference, send your message to biotech-room2@mailserv.fao.org For further information on the FAO Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture see http://www.fao.org/biotech/forum.asp ]
-----Original Message-----
From: Biotech-Mod2
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 12:15 PM
To: 'biotech-room2@mailserv.fao.org'
Subject: Re: IPRs and public international agricultural research
I can think of three examples to secure some of the potential benefits of biotechnology for developing countries. I am sure other participants can add more to this list.
1. Encouraging participatory plant breeding (PPB) programs with biotech varieties in developing countries - Examples of PPB include rice in Vietnam, the Ivory Coast, Nepal and India; pigeon pea and pearl millet in Kenya and India; beans in Rwanda, Colombia and Brazil. Such efforts could be extended to biotech products as well. Farmers usually grow the early variable generations of varieties and select the best plants amongst them on their own fields. [Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) denotes a range of activities which seek closer user involvement in crop development and/or seed supply...Moderator].
2. Assessment of the value of genetic resources from various countries: A fixed percentage of the total value of a crop in a developed country can be allocated towards developing a strong IPR regime in, and benefit-sharing with, developing countries. The percentage could be based on the germplasm contributed by developing countries, the approximate number of years involved in developing those materials either individually or collectively, etc.
3. Direct partnership between companies: Here, a private company in a developed country usually enters into a joint venture in a developing country and transfers biotech products directly, instead of making a licensing agreement. Through this relationship, the developed country partner can benefit from lower costs of research and production in developing country in exchange for its technology transfer.
It is reasonable to conclude that while the legal instruments for recognizing the intellectual property contributions of communities, especially in developing countries, are yet to evolve, there is now a fast-track approach to recognize and reward the innovations of individuals, especially in developed countries. International organizations and developed countries have, therefore, a joint responsibility to devise the former in consultation with developing countries, and to minimize the ambiguity of application of the WTO agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Matters (TRIPS) in developing countries through developing a system with ethics and equity provisions to protect plant varieties and farmers' rights.
Ancha Srinivasan, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher, Regional Science Institute
4-13, Kita 24 Nishi 2, Kita-ku, Sapporo 001-0024 Japan
Tel:+81-11-717-6660 Fax: +81-11-757-3610
E-mail: ancha@vtt.co.jp or ancha_s@yahoo.com
[To contribute to this conference, send your message to biotech-room2@mailserv.fao.org For further information on the FAO Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture see http://www.fao.org/biotech/forum.asp ]