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See also the following sections of this website: 

• Indigenous peoples
• Health issues: General
• Access to life-saving medicines (including AIDS medicines)
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Biotechnology companies
• Genetically-modified food/crops
• World Trade Organization (WTO)

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website:

WIPO homepage {···english···français···español···arabic}

Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge, Innovations and Creativity: Introduction

Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge, Innovations and Creativity: Documents

• WIPO Inter-Regional Meeting on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge (Thailand, 9-11 Nov. 2000)

• WIPO Roundtable on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge (Geneva, 1-2 Nov. 1999)

• WIPO Roundtable on Intellectual Property and Indigenous Peoples (Geneva, 23-24 July 1998)

Draft Report on Fact-finding Missions on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge (1998-1999)

Other websites:

Biodiversity, Access, Indigenous Knowledge and IPRs [intellectual property rights] (Third World Network)

Biopiracy and appropriation of traditional knowledge (Third World Network)

Consumer Project on Technology

• Web page on Cipro patent dispute: Ciprofloxacin: the Dispute over compulsory licenses (Consumer Project on Technology)

• Health Care and Intellectual Property (Consumer Project on Technology)

• Public Policy Issues Related to Intellectual Property (Consumer Project on Technology)

A Global Roadmap for Modern Biotechnology: An issues-based navigational tool with policy options for decision-makers in the public and private sectors (International Chamber of Commerce)

Global Trade Negotiations: Intellectual Property Rights (Centre for International Development at Harvard University)

Indigenous Knowledge (Global Development Gateway)

Indigenous Knowledge and Community Rights (Third World Network)

Intellectual Property Rights (Global Trade Negotiations Home Page, Center for International Development at Harvard University)

Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge, Innovations and Creativity (World Intellectual Property Organization)

Novo Nordisk positions: Intellectual property rights and patenting (Novo Nordisk)

PhRMA Position Papers on Intellectual Property (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America)

TRIPS, sui generis and plant variety protection (Third World Network)

World Trade Organization website (World Trade Organization)

• TRIPS [trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights] material on the WTO website

World Trade Organization and Indigenous Peoples (Indigenous Environmental Network)

Other materials:

2003:

Drug industry debates duty to society -...To what extent should pharmaceutical companies be accountable for including minorities in their studies of new medicines? What issues should be considered in balancing the enforcement of patents and the availability of life-saving drugs? These questions and more arose at the opening day of a conference examining the "Grand Bargain" between society and the drug industry (Lewis Krauskopf, NorthJersey.com, 22 Apr. 2003)

Merck board approves spinoff of Medco business -...shareholders [at Merck's annual meeting] rejected two proposals that raised moral issues: A Wisconsin-based religious group...said the board should develop "ethical criteria" on extending patents for prescription drugs. The group argued that generic drugs "expand access to needed treatments," and that making small changes to keep a patented drug under protection brings higher costs to consumers and discourages innovation. The board said the company will defend its patents but "will not pursue baseless legal or other remedies designed merely to delay the entry of generic medicines." (Jeffrey Gold, Associated Press, 22 Apr. 2003)

Investing with an agenda - Calpers' social, corporate activism drawing attention in bear market as some fear its aggressive tactics may cost governments, firms money -...When the AIDS Healthcare Foundation wanted drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC to lower the $438 a person it charges in developing countries for a year's worth of AZT, it turned to an unlikely ally: America's largest pension fund...In its letter to Glaxo...Calpers praised the drug maker for ''established and effective humanitarian programs.'' But Calpers pressed Glaxo to ''immediately and continually evaluate the company's humanitarian efforts in light of a changing environment, including its response to the AIDS epidemic.'' Calpers wants Glaxo's findings to be scrutinized by an independent body like Doctors Without Borders. (Chris Gaither, Boston Globe, 20 Apr. 2003)

New call for cheap Aids drugs - The largest pension fund in the US has called on British drug giant GSK to make access to Aids drugs easier by cutting prices and easing patent controls. (BBC News, 15 Apr. 2003)

• CalPERS asks Glaxo to lower AIDS drug prices (Sacramento Business Journal, 14 Apr. 2003)

• GSK Commends CalPERS for Its Support of the Company's Continuing HIV/AIDS Efforts - The following is a statement from GlaxoSmithKline commending the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) for their interest in and support of the company's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The statement comes in response to a press release issued by The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). In that press release, AHF describes a letter written by CalPERS to GSK ending months of pressure by AHF to try and force CalPERS to sell its GSK shareholdings. In a unanimous vote, the CalPERS Board rejected AHF's attempts to force a sale of GSK stock, and instead agreed to write a letter expressing its concerns that the company continue and expand its efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic. (GlaxoSmithKline, 15 Apr. 2003)

• CalPERS to Glaxo: Lower AIDS Drug Prices, Increase Humanitarian Efforts - Nation's Largest Pension System Warns British Drug Giant of Damage to Reputation, Encourages GSK to Study Voluntary Licensing of Generic Life-Saving AIDS Drugs - Mammoth Pension Fund Holds Nearly USD$760 Million in GSK Stock (AIDS Healthcare Foundation, 15 Apr. 2003)

State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs [ADAPs], NASTAD Negotiate Lower Price for Fuzeon With Roche [USA] -...The meetings...brought together ADAP representatives from California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Texas...with representatives from Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Gilead Sciences and Bristol-Myers Squibb...Roche was the only company to come to a "satisfactory agreement" with the ADAPs...Five other drug companies have decided to continue negotiations, which are expected to conclude by late next month. (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 31 Mar. 2003)

Pharmaceuticals held to ransom? - Twelve of Europe's biggest investors have united in an attempt to challenge multinational drugs firms to improve access to medicines in poor countries, but, asks Jim Gough, will it change anything? -...According to Olivia Lankester, a senior analyst at Isis, eight leading pharmaceutical companies were alerted before the release of the investors' statement of good practice, and 'many of them' said they would welcome the initiative...GSK [GlaxoSmithKline] chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier insists the company's policies, initiatives and commitments are already consistent with the investors' proposed framework. He believes GSK is the only company undertaking research and development into the prevention and treatment of the World Health Organisation's top priority diseases in the developing world, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria...Nathan Ford, MSF's [Médecins Sans Frontières'] access to medicines adviser, says: 'I'm completely unconvinced that the industry is responding anything like adequately enough"...The Scottish arm of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry...said access to drugs can be limited by weaknesses among the governments of poor nations.  A spokeswoman said: 'Everybody concentrates on the patents -- but that is not the major issue. (Sunday Herald [Scotland], 30 Mar. 2003)

The Dangers to Doha: The Risks of Failure in the Trade Round - The following is an address by Clare Short, MP, Britain's Secretary of State for International Development, to the Royal Institute of International Affairs...Today I want to talk to you about an urgent issue: the dangers to the Doha Trade Round and the imperative of acting now to secure a successful outcome of the Round. I want to spell out why this matters so much to developing countries. (Clare Short, UK Secretary of State for International Development, 25 Mar. 2003)

Investors pressure drug firms on pricing - Multinationals urged to allow developing countries to sidestep patents on life-saving treatments - Drug companies were given a stark warning yesterday that blocking access to life-saving drugs at affordable prices by poor countries could undermine public confidence in them and damage the value of their shares in the long term. The unprecedented pressure on the multinationals comes from major City institutions with investments of more than £600bn and backed by well-known names such as Jupiter, Schroders and Legal and General Investment Management. (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 25 Mar. 2003)

• Financial institutions launch statement on pharmaceuticals and the health crisis in emerging markets (ISIS Asset Management, 24 Mar. 2003)

• full statement: "Investor Statement on pharmaceutical companies and the public health crisis in emerging markets" (ISIS Asset Mgt., Universities Superannuation Scheme, Insight Investment, Henderson Global Investors, Schroders, Legal & General Investment Mgt., Morley Fund Mgt., Co-operative Insurance, Jupiter, Ethos, PGGM, Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church, 24 Mar. 2003)

• Drugs industry told to do more for poor - The pharmaceuticals industry risks damaging its reputation and future profits if it does not do more to respond to health crises in poor countries, a group of European institutional investors said on Monday. (Reuters, 24 Mar. 2003) 

• Investors issue a wake-up call to the global pharmaceutical industry (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 26 Mar. 2003)

Drug giants 'next tobacco' warning - The pharmaceutical industry risks becoming the "new tobacco" unless it cleans up its act in developing countries, an influential group of investors has warned. The global drugs industry must do more to help poor countries facing health crises, according to investors from the US and continental Europe. (BBC News, 24 Mar. 2003)

United by Free Trade -...Meanwhile, the U.S. position on loosening patent rules on drugs for very poor developing countries is also in need of reexamination. It is unacceptable that millions of victims of AIDS, tuberculosis and other epidemics cannot afford the drugs that could cure them because the American drug industry keeps the prices too high. Talks on this issue collapsed last December, and although U.S. negotiators have agreed not to pursue poor countries that manufacture generic versions of critical drugs, the onus is still on the United States to make sure the drugs are genuinely and easily available where they need to be. (editorial, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2003)

The threat to science as a 'public good' -...Many feel that, through legislation on issues that range from intellectual property rights to copyright on databases, attempts to turn scientific information into private property have gone too far. The WSIS [World Summit on the Information Society] presents an ideal opportunity to highlight this issue before the world's political leaders, and help forge an international consensus that urgent measures are needed to redress the balance between public access to, and private control over, scientific data...Developing nations are at particular risk from these trends. (David Dickson, comment, SciDev.Net, 17 Mar. 2003)

Patent relaxation threatens Aids drugs -...The US develops 70 per cent of all new drugs and most Aids drugs. Yet 25 per cent fewer drug companies are working on Aids drugs than a few years ago, partly because their previous discoveries are being ripped off. The US trade representative should continue to stand up for patents against the rest of the world, allowing only the poorest 60 or so countries to copy patented drugs. (Roger Bate, Africa Fighting Malaria, letter to Financial Times, 18 Feb. 2003)

DRUGS: WHO To Push WTO On Patents -...According to Brazilian Health Minister Humberto Costa, the WHO is planning to send a letter to the WTO calling for public health interests to be given priority over the interests of the pharmaceutical industry (UN Wire, 28 Jan. 2003)

• {···português} OMS vai priorizar quebra de patentes (Jornal do Brasil, 28 janeiro 2003)

HIV/AIDS: WHO Welcomes Drug Makers' Patent Moves - The World Health Organization Friday welcomed new initiatives by several drug companies to license their patents to generic manufacturers for production of certain HIV/AIDS drugs. (UN Wire, 27 Jan. 2003)

• UN health agency welcomes move by companies to licence some HIV/AIDS drugs (UN News Centre, 24 Jan. 2003)

Patents are not the problem with drugs access -...In reality, 99 per cent of the World Health Organisation's list of essential drugs are not patented - yet access to these medicines is abysmally low. The reason is the grinding poverty in poor countries and a lack of health infrastructure. If rich countries wanted to show that they took poor country concerns seriously, they should start reducing agricultural subsidies. (Richard Tren, Africa Fighting Malaria, letter to Financial Times, 2 Jan. 2003)

2002:

Strict International Patent Laws Hurt Developing Countries - What was the South African lawsuit about, and what does it tell us about globalization? [regarding lawsuit filed in 1998 by 39 pharmaceutical companies against South Africa, seeking to stop the government from producing generic drugs to make treatment affordable for the country's AIDS victims; after an international public outcry the companies dropped the lawsuit] (Amy Kapczynski, YaleGlobal, 16 Dec. 2002)

DRUGS: Access Must Not Harm World Trade, WTO Head Says - "...if we fail to protect the patents of entrepreneurs who channel billions of dollars into developing new drugs, our hopes of finding lifesaving medication for currently untreatable ailments will be dashed," he [WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi] said (UN Wire, 16 Dec. 2002)

press release: Access to essential drugs may be undermined by global patent agreement -...The Panos Report, Patents, Pills and Public Health: can TRIPS deliver? warns that patent legislation is not being debated widely enough in most developing countries, and the process of introducing it needs to be more consultative and transparent. (Panos Institute, 1 Dec. 2002)

• full report: Patents, Pills and Public Health - Can TRIPS Deliver? (Panos Institute, Dec. 2002)

Medicine Access in Dispute - With the rich countries eager to renege on promises made at the November 2001 World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar, developing countries in November rejected rich country proposals that public health advocates said would significantly limit poor countries' access to essential medicines. (Multinational Monitor, Dec. 2002)

Industrialised North Puts Brakes on WTO Medicine Accord - Negotiators at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) failed Friday to reach an agreement to ensure poor countries access to essential medicines. Health activists blame the fiasco on opposition from the United States and a handful of other industrialised countries. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 29 Nov. 2002)

US drug makers accused of bullying - The US government and the giant pharmaceutical companies are continuing to bully poor countries to tighten up their patent rules, hampering efforts to obtain cheap medicines for people with diseases such as HIV/Aids, according to a new report [by Oxfam] (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 14 Nov. 2002)

DRUGS: WTO Ministers Meet To Tackle Generics - A two-day World Trade Organization ministerial meeting was slated to open today in Sydney, with much discussion expected to focus on amending international patent rules to provide poor countries with access to cheap generic medicines. (UN Wire, 14 Nov. 2002)

Tiered pricing alone is not enough - Oxfam welcomes the [European] Commission’s initiative to help reduce the price of essential medicines for developing countries. This must now be coupled with fundamental reform of global patent rules which are preventing poor people getting access to the cheapest possible medicines...Oxfam believe that the Commission’s decision to limit the scope to just HIV, TB and Malaria and to the very poorest countries in the world could result in terrible development outcomes. (Oxfam, 4 Nov. 2002)

MEDICINES: 2 Billion People Lack Access To Essential Drugs, WHO Says -...Medecins Sans Frontieres' Bernard Pecoul said patents, particularly on AIDS drugs, lead to higher prices, "with the direct result that people in developing countries cannot afford to save their own lives" (UN Wire, 22 Oct. 2002)

Group Moves to Protect Farmers' Right to Seeds -...Farmers' seed rights, according to ActionAid, have become increasingly jeopardized by the global expansion of intellectual property rights, which are often characterized by the use of patents, copyrights, or trademarks, and enforced by international conventions such as TRIPs. (Kalyani, OneWorld South Asia, 15 Oct. 2002) 

Traditional knowledge of biodiversity in Asia-Pacific: Problems of Piracy & Protection (GRAIN [Genetic Resources Action International] and Kalpavriksh, Oct. 2002)

Patent laws hamper war on poverty - The fight against poverty in the developing world is being hampered by stringent patent laws imposed by rich countries, an independent commission said (Heather Stewart, Guardian [UK], 13 Sep. 2002)

• PATENTS - Panel slams patent burden on poor - Poor countries have little to gain and plenty to lose from adopting Western levels of patent protection, a group of experts appointed by the British government said on Thursday. The Commission on Intellectual Property Rights concluded that a global drive to expand patent protection would mean higher-priced medicines and seeds for most developing countries (Ben Hirschler, Reuters, 12 Sep 2002)

China may break Aids drug patents - China will be forced to break patents on Western Aids drugs unless foreign pharmaceutical companies agree to cut prices by early next year, a top health official said. (BBC News, 6 Sep. 2002)

Innovative measures required to protect indigenous knowledge -...As controversies surrounding indigenous intellectual property rights simmer, UNESCO will hold a major event at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (August 26 to September 4) to highlight innovative approaches to protecting and sharing traditional knowledge. (UNESCO, 22 Aug. 2002)

• {···español} Aprovechar y compartir el saber indígena: Un debate -...En un momento en que los derechos de propiedad intelectual de los indígenas continúan siendo motivo de polémica, la UNESCO celebrará un importante acto en la Cumbre Mundial sobre Desarrollo Sostenible para poner de manifiesto la existencia de otras formas de proteger y compartir los saberes tradicionales. (UNESCO, 22 agosto 2002)

• {···français} L'exploitation et le partage des savoirs autochtones en débat -...Alors que les questions liées aux droits de propriété intellectuelle autochtones continuent à alimenter les controverses, l'UNESCO organise un événement majeur lors du Sommet mondial sur le développement durable, destiné à mieux faire connaître d'autres approches de la protection et du partage des savoirs traditionnels. (UNESCO, 22 août 2002)

Indigenous Peoples' International Summit on Sustainable Development, Kimberly, South Africa, 20 - 23 August 2002 [added to this site on 5 Aug. 2002]

• Draft agenda - Indigenous Peoples' International Summit on Sustainable Development [includes agenda items on: "Large-Scale Development Projects and Corporations Mines/Dams/Plantations,etc."; "Genetic Resources, Intellectual Property Rights and Traditional Knowledge"]

South Africa's Aids apartheid -...People who are HIV positive are therefore beginning to raise demands far beyond the question of medical treatment: the rebuilding of public services, access to an unconditional basic income of 100 rand (10 euros) a month, workers' rights...Too expensive for the poorest countries, these drugs [antiretrovirals] are at the heart of the debate on globalisation. Can patents take precedence over the right to life? (Philippe Rivière, Le Monde diplomatique, Aug. 2002)

Kalahari cactus boosts UK drug firm - An anti-obesity drug made from a Kalahari desert cactus is a step closer to reality after its developer, UK drug company Phytopharm, signed a fresh deal with US giant Pfizer...In the hope of staving off the anger that sometimes surrounds companies which exploit traditional medicines without rewarding their original discoverers, the company signed a deal in 1997 with the South African government for a cut of the royalties. (BBC News, 30 July 2002)

Second South-South Biopiracy Summit - "Biopiracy - Ten Years Post-Rio" - Hosted by Biowatch South Africa - 22-23 August 2002 - Johannesburg, South Africa - ...Aim: To share information and raise awareness on access & benefit sharing, bioprospecting, biopiracy, intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge. This day is primarily focused on civil society sharing experiences on legislation implementation & community experiences through case studies. (Biowatch South Africa) [added to this site on 22 July 2002]

New Standard for Corporate Social Responsibility of Drugs Companies - Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO have developed an industry standard for assessing the corporate social responsibility of drugs companies in responding to the health crisis in the developing world. - In a new report, Beyond Philanthropy, published today, the three development agencies propose a set of benchmarks to assist investors in assessing the social responsibility of pharmaceutical companies. These benchmarks relate to company policies and practices in five key areas which impact on access to medicines for the 14 million children and adults who die each year from infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS. The key areas are: pricing, patents, joint public private initiatives, research and development and appropriate use of medicines. (Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO, 16 July 2002)

• full report: Beyond Philanthropy: the pharmaceutical industry, corporate social responsibility and the developing world (Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO, July 2002)

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: Venezuela Pushes Heritage Plan At WIPO - Venezuela has brought before the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva a program aimed at preserving the knowledge and heritage of its indigenous people through photographs, video, audio and text and ensuring indigenous groups benefit from the use of the information, El Universal reported yesterday...Proponents say countries and businesses -- mainly cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies -- seek insight from ethnic communities on plants, biodiversity and other traditions but do not compensate them. (UN Wire, 9 July 2002)

• {···español} Tradición indígena protegida - Base de datos para preservar conocimientos ancestrales - Un proyecto recopila a través de fotos, textos, video y sonido información de las etnias venezolanas - Se espera que en un futuro los grupos indígenas puedan obtener beneficios del uso de sus conocimientos (Jenny Lozano, El Universal [Venezuela], 8 julio 2002)

Peruvian's love root under threat - Today ActionAid joins the tug-of-love between poor farmers and a US corporation over a natural alternative to Viagra. The international charity is joining the global campaign calling on PureWorld Botanicals to drop its patents on maca, a sexual stimulant grown high in the Peruvian mountains. Local people risk losing out on booming profits as patents lodged by the US corporation could stop them selling extracts of the plant in the UK and the rest of the world. (ActionAid, 7 July 2002)

India's Digital Library Aids Biopirates - Activists - Far from protecting biodiversity and traditional knowledge, India's new Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) may be just the thing that biopirates have been looking for in navigating through the country's vast ocean of ancient literature on indigenous herbs and their uses, critics say. (Ranjit Devraj, Inter Press Service, 4 July 2002)

WIPO [World Intellectual Property Organisation] moves toward "world" patent system (GRAIN, July 2002)

WTO policies criticized [Pakistan] - Organic farming, conservation of indigenous seeds and modern information on agriculture are prerequisites for getting rid of the offensive advances of multi-national companies and ensuring food security for the future generations. This was the crux of a day-long seminar on "The Agreement of the WTO and Threats to Food Security". (Dawn [Pakistan], 11 June 2002)

UN conference backs indigenous peoples drug payout: A global environmental conference last week hammered out guidelines to encourage big business to pay indigenous communities for the right to use native plants to make commercial drugs and cosmetics. (Otti Thomas, Reuters, 22 Apr. 2002)

UN moves to curb bio-piracy (Tim Hirsch, BBC News, 17 Apr. 2002)

Report of the In-Depth Study Session on the World Trade Organisation for Human Rights Professionals: 1-2 February 2002 [includes sections on: "Trade liberalisation, Development and Human Rights";  "The Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), Traditional Knowledge, and Indigenous Peoples' Rights"] (Secretariat of the Study Session on the WTO / 3D Associates, Apr. 2002)

Bushmen victory over drug firms [South Africa]: They have faced extinction and poverty for hundreds of years, but now the San Bushmen of southern Africa stand to make millions of pounds from a so-called miracle slimming pill being developed by Western drug companies...'It's a lesson to corporations that they can't come in and patent traditional knowledge on plants from local communities and get away with it.' [refers to Pfizer] (Antony Barnett, Observer [UK], 31 Mar. 2002)

• San people demand compensation from pharmaceutical companies: The Mail & Guardian reports that South Africa's Kung tribe are demanding compensation as their ancient knowledge has been "stolen" to produce a slimming miracle drug that is set to take the world by storm. (WildNet Africa, 25 June 2001)

Bio "gold" rush in Chiapas on hold [Mexico]: A $2.5 million project to research Chiapas plants for possible commercial use was halted after it roused the ire of indigenous rights activists. When does "bioprospecting" become "biopiracy"? (Barbara Belejack, NACLA Report on the Americas [North American Congress on Latin America], Mar.-Apr. 2002)

Patents put to the test in Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line 2001: dealing with dilemmas (Novo Nordisk, Mar. 2002)

The latest Novo Nordisk Triple Bottom Line report: 'Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line 2001: Dealing with dilemmas' [social/environmental report by Novo Nordisk; includes sections on: globalisation and its implications for business, access to healthcare in developing countries, intellectual property rights, diversity and equal opportunities in the workplace] (Novo Nordisk, Mar. 2002)

Brazil starts mapping medicinal plant potential:...With the new center, Brazil hopes to uncover and document more herbal remedies in a bid to preserve and protect its valuable plant species from bio-pirates who frequently coerce poor Amazon tribes into extracting plant remedies for export. (Katherine Baldwin, Reuters, 26 Feb. 2002)

China, Brazil, India, 9 other nations form alliance against biopiracy: China, Brazil, India, and nine other of the world's most biodiverse countries signed an alliance Monday to fight biopiracy and press for rules protecting their people's rights to genetic resources found on their land. (Mark Stevenson, Associated Press, Environmental News Network website, 19 Feb. 2002)

Charity chip shocker [UK]: chip shop owners threatened by patent bid - International charity ActionAid today applies to patent Britain's favourite take-away food - the great British chip...ActionAid is able to make this claim under new patent rules that allow companies to get exclusive rights over basic foods and even nature itself...Salil Shetty, ActionAid's Chief Executive said: "Our chip patent shows how absurd these patent rules are and highlights the ease with which big business is using these rules to deprive people of their rights. (ActionAid, 11 Feb. 2002) 

WTO rules 'detrimental' to developing countries [report from World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil]: The message from all panellists at the conference was that the World Trade Organisation's rules on intellectual property rights were detrimental to developing countries and that reform efforts at its ministerial meeting in Doha last September were mostly cosmetic. (Raymond Colitt, Financial Times, 3 Feb. 2002) 

Hundreds of NGOs from more than 50 nations announce support of a treaty to establish the gene pool as a global commons - Biotech activists to challenge government and corporate claims on patents on life - Treaty to be centerpiece of international campaigns around the world (press statement by various NGOs at World Social Forum, Focus on the Global South website, 1 Feb. 2002)

2001:

Brazil Sees Promise in Jungle Plants, but Tribes See Peril: The Brazilian government, increasingly fearful of what it regards as "biopiracy" by foreign pharmaceutical companies, universities and laboratories, is moving to impose stricter controls on medicinal plants in the Amazon region. (Larry Rohter, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2001)

Samoan Healers to Share AIDS Drug Profits: The families of two Samoan women who passed on knowledge of a tree's healing powers will share in profits from any AIDS drug developed from the rain forest plant. (USA Today, 17 Dec. 2001)

• AIDS ReSearch Alliance of America Announces Landmark Agreement To Share Drug Profits With Samoan Village Healers: Promising rain forest-derived anti-AIDS compound is first ever licensed by National Cancer Institute to a nonprofit research institution (AIDS Research Alliance of America, 13 Dec. 2001)

Brazil's Indians take path toward medicinal patents:...In their crusade, Brazilian officials and Indian representatives this week will take a declaration from a convention of Indian spiritual leaders and witch doctors to the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization meeting in Geneva. (Andrei Khalip, Reuters, 12 Dec. 2001)

Intellectual Property and the Knowledge Gap [regarding intellectual property rules affecting people's access to medicines, seeds and educational materials, and the ability of poor countries to develop and participate in global markets] (Oxfam policy paper, Dec. 2001)

A disappointing compromise [critique of the new International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture] (editorial, Seedling, GRAIN [Genetic Resources Action International], Dec. 2001)

WTO: Agreement Reached In Doha; January Trade Round Set -...Even in light of the agreement allowing developing countries to break patents in the name of public health, the optimism of drug companies has not been dampened, the Wall Street Journal reports. "This does not change the way we sell our medicines," said Merck spokeswoman Gwen Fisher. "We do not believe that our intellectual property rights are in any way diminished," said Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America President Alan Holmer. "We're satisfied with the language" (UN Wire, 15 Nov. 2001)

Do patents threaten food security? Global food security is under threat from "bio-pirates" who take plants from developing countries, change them slightly then patent the new varieties, according to anti-poverty groups and activists (Karen Iley, Reuters, 15 Nov. 2001)

WTO relaxes rule on drug patents: Campaigners hope deal will cut cost of remedies for diseases which kill millions - Developing countries won a breakthrough deal on relaxing drug patents at the World Trade Organisation's Doha meeting yesterday. Campaigners hope it will bring down the cost of remedies for treating diseases killing millions of poor people every year...campaigners said the US had undermined its own position by itself threatening to override the patent on Cipro, the main anti-anthrax remedy last month, even though only four people have died of the disease. (Charlotte Denny, Guardian [UK], 13 Nov. 2001)

WTO confirms drugs deal: Trade negotiators at the world trade talks in Doha have reached broad agreement on a deal to ensure that poor countries have access to medicines...Ministers are expected to approve a text later on Tuesday relating to the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) intellectual property rights accord, known as TRIPS. The text will state that TRIPS "can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members' rights to protect public health and in particular to ensure access to medicines for all". Senior US trade officials said that "great progress" had been made on the health issue, and the success demonstrated to developing countries that the WTO was "part of the solution, not part of the problem". But they argued the text was a political statement that did not have legal force. (Steve Schifferes, BBC News, 13 Nov. 2001)

US Government's $2.5 Million Biopiracy Project in Mexico Cancelled: Victory for Indigenous Peoples in Chiapas [regarding US government-funded ICBG-Maya project aimed at the bioprospecting of Mayan medicinal plants and traditional knowledge] (ETCGroup.org, 9 Nov. 2001)

At trade talks, generic-drug issue key:...Accused of hypocrisy by AIDS groups and developing nations, the US is now backing off on its hard-line stance on drug patents, offering new hope for AIDS-ravaged countries such as South Africa. (Nicole Itano, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Nov. 2001)

AGRICULTURE: FAO Votes for Broad Limits on Crop Patents - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Conference has approved an international treaty that largely bans the patenting of non-genetically modified crops, a step aimed at protecting plant diversity as a tool for eradicating world hunger. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is intended to preserve the diversity of food and agriculture and the ''fair and equitable sharing of the benefits.'' (Jorge Piña, Inter Press Service, 5 Nov. 2001)

• International treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture approved by FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organization] conference: The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture...takes into consideration the particular needs of farmers and plant breeders, and aims to guarantee the future availability of the diversity of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture on which they depend, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits, FAO experts say. (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 3 Nov. 2001)

Of patents and panics: US intellectual property law finely balances competing interests. Hasty wartime amendments would be risky, says Patti Waldmeir...Bayer, the Cipro patent-holder, was condemned for using its patent to keep generic anti-anthrax drugs out of the hands of soon-to-be-sick Americans. The US secretary of health hinted he might abrogate the company's patent rights - and then used that threat to negotiate a sharp price cut. (Patti Waldmeir, Financial Times, 31 Oct. 2001)

The Bayer facts:...Worried about bioterrorism, Health Canada has ordered 900,000 generic copies of an anti-anthrax pill from a firm that doesn't hold the patent. The government has bypassed the true patent-holder, on the reasonable-sounding grounds that anthrax is a potential public emergency...If anthrax were the last public policy issue on Earth, it might make sense to smash the pharmacy window and grab the loot. But since we all believe in a future, we must acknowledge that the free world needs a stable system that reliably delivers innovations, medical or otherwise. So we'd best respect property rights. (editorial, The Ottawa Citizen, 20 Oct. 2001)

Health Minister defends contract for generic antibiotics to treat anthrax [Canada]: Health Minister Allan Rock is refusing to say whether his department violated patent law in ordering a large amount of anti-anthrax medication from a generic drug company. Nor would Rock say whether he will stick with generic drug manufacturer Apotex as a source of supply now that brand manufacturer Bayer says it has ample product to meet Canada's needs. He said he is not in a position to answer those questions and they will be dealt with when his officials meet with Bayer officials next week. (Dennis Bueckert, Canadian Press, 19 Oct. 2001)

Ottawa accused of breaking its own patent law [regarding Canadian Government's decision to override Bayer's patent of anti-anthrax drug by ordering a cheaper generic version]:...The federal government can override a patent in emergency situations. But, an official emergency has not been declared. And, now Bayer is upset it was never even consulted. The German-based pharmaceutical company is even thinking about suing. Another problem for Ottawa is once the exception is made to the patent law, how many more will follow? Public health advocates welcome the renewed debate over patent protection. They say drug companies get too much protection and the patients too little. (Domenic Fazioli, Global Television Montreal, 19 Oct. 2001)

TRADE: India To Seek Changes in WTO Draft in Singapore: India will rally like-minded developing countries to press for changes in the World Trade Organisation (WTO)'s draft declaration readied for next month's ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar...''The draft confirms that WTO is an asymmetric body, biased in favour of the North against the South, with rules written to protect the interests of corporations and extinguish the rights of people.'' said Vanadana Shiva, director of the India-based, Research Foundation for Science, Ecology and Technology...While developing countries have demanded that the Convention on Biodiversity take precedence over TRIPS wherever conflicts arose between the WTO and multilateral environment agreements, the draft favours TRIPS as the guide for work on indigenous knowledge and biodiversity. (Ranjit Devraj, Inter Press Service, 11 Oct. 2001)

Gene patents are legal, EU court rules: A European Union court upheld an EU law yesterday that allows companies to patent genetic sequences found in plants and animals, rejecting the Netherlands' attempt to overturn the law (Reuters, 10 Oct. 2001) 

'Halt terror against the earth' [India]: The Maharashtra Government has reportedly given the rights to a lake - which hitherto was the community resource and a source of livelihood for the local population - to the soft drinks giant, Coca Cola, for running one of its several bottling plants in the country. This is not an isolated case. Globalisation is allowing a handful of corporations such as Cargill and Vivendi to own and control public land and water through contract farming, privatisation and commodification of resources. Corporations such as Monsanto, Syngenta and Novartis are pirating and trying to own and control our biodiversity, food, medicinal plants and knowledge through patents and IPR claims such as the neem patents, basmati and other rice patents. (Soma Basu, The Hindu [India], 5 Oct. 2001)

• company websites:

  • Coca Cola 
  • Cargill
  • Vivendi
  • Monsanto: Biotechnology  
  • Syngenta
  • Novartis

Biodiversity Rights Legislation (BRL): Biodiversity Rights Legislation (BRL) is a collection of public legal documents -- laws, bills and other legislative proposals...BRL contains the full texts or the Internet addresses (URLs) of emerging laws and policies that affect peoples' control over agricultural biodiversity in developing countries. (GRAIN [Genetic Resources Action International], Oct. 2001)

Patenting GMOs - a difficult question of balance: Patenting living organisms - a means to create unfair profit potential for the rich or an efficient way of encouraging new technologies to conserve dwindling natural resources and promote world food security? Those are just two sides of the debate over the complex and sensitive issue of slapping intellectual property protection on living forms, including genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). (Karen Iley, Reuters, 25 Sep. 2001)

{···español} Todos los caminos conducen a la propiedad intelectual en América Latina: La Fundación Gaia y GRAIN anuncian la publicación de un nuevo informe que analiza los mecanismos de presión internacional que vienen siendo utilizados para lograr que los países de América Latina adopten medidas de monopolización sobre la biodiversidad, en ocasiones normas de derechos de propiedad intelectual (DPI) que van más allá de lo requerido por el Acuerdo TRIPS de la Organización Mundial del Comercio. (GRAIN, 19 Sep. 2001)

Bio-pirates stalk Borneo tribes' treasure trove: Mark Bujang of the Borneo Resources Institute says the East Malaysian state's natives are in danger of having their indigenous savvy ripped off by so-called "bio-pirates"...He says his institute wants Sarawak's multitude of native groups to share in the benefits of any treatments born from what they have known for generations. (Patrick Chalmers, Reuters, 5 Sep. 2001)

Patent laws cause diplomatic uproar: There has been uproar in India this week over a United States decision to grant a patent to an American company for varieties of rice similar to basmati. And in Brazil, the government has announced it intends to break the patent on a vital Aids drug made by a Swiss pharmaceutical company. The two cases illustrate different aspects of the argument about patents that pits developing countries against Western big business. (Barnaby Mason, BBC News, 23 Aug. 2001)

RIGHTS: NGOs Back UN Call for Globalisation Impact Study: Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) applaud the decision of a United Nations body to urge a detailed study of the effects of globalisation and certain trade agreements on human rights. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 20 Aug. 2001)

Harnessing Trade for Development: World trade rules have been developed by the rich and powerful on the basis of their narrow commercial interests. Rich countries and powerful corporations have captured a disproportionate share of the benefits of trade, leaving developing countries and poor people worse off. Trade rules should be judged on their contribution to poverty reduction, respect for human rights, and environmental sustainability. (Oxfam, 16 Aug. 2001)

World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund respond to [United Nations] Subcommission report on globalization [which contended that the rules of international trade and economic regimes did not show sufficient respect for human rights standards] (United Nations, 8 Aug. 2001)

[United Nations] Subcommission continues debate on role of international financial institutions in promoting human rights (United Nations, 8 Aug. 2001)

DRUGS: Study Presented To UN Calls For More Human Rights Focus - International economic agreements, including those covering intellectual property rights, should focus more on the issue of human rights and not bar policies ensuring access to medicine at affordable prices, said a study presented to the UN Subcommission on Human Rights yesterday. (UN Wire, 8 Aug. 2001)

[United Nations] Subcommission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights discusses impact of globalization on human rights (United Nations, 7 Aug. 2001)

press release: "TRIPS-plus" treaties leave WTO in the dust: A report published today by Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN) shows the extent to which industrialised countries are using bilateral treaties to secure ever stronger monopoly rights on biodiversity in developing countries. (GRAIN, 27 July 2001)

• {···español: Tratados "TRIPS-plus" dejan atrás a la OMC}

• {···français: Les traités "ADPIC-plus" laissent l'OMC en arrière} 

• report: "TRIPS-plus" through the back door: How bilateral treaties impose much stronger rules for IPRs [intellectual property rights] on life than the WTO (GRAIN, July 2001)

Roadmap points the way ahead for biotechnology: Business experts serving on ICC [International Chamber of Commerce] commissions covering environment, trade and investment, intellectual property and marketing have combined to draw up a Global Roadmap for Modern Biotechnology. The roadmap contrasts business and government positions on all the basic issues under debate, including promoting innovation, building consumer trust and health and environmental issues. (International Chamber of Commerce, 20 July 2001)

• full text: A Global Roadmap for Modern Biotechnology: An issues-based navigational tool with policy options for decision-makers in the public and private sectors (International Chamber of Commerce)

Patently Obvious: Protection of intellectual property - works of the mind - is the lifeblood of today's new knowledge economy. But while the benefits to the multinational pharmaceutical or telecommunication giants are plain, what relevance do international patent regulations have for developing countries? (Lifeonline: A multimedia initiative about the impact of globalization, 5 July 2001)

• full transcript of "Patently Obvious"

FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organization] Agreement Reached On Seed Banks (UN Wire, 2 July 2001)

The impact of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights on human rights: Report of the High Commissioner (report prepared for United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 27 June 2001)

Multinationals must stop exploiting biodiversity and abusing patent laws (Greenpeace, 25 June 2001) 

BIOPIRACY: Conference Blasts US For Profiting From Asian Resources (UN Wire, 21 June 2001)

In Africa the Hoodia cactus keeps men alive. Now its secret is 'stolen' to make us thin - Pharmaceutical firms stand accused of once again plundering native lore to make fortunes from natural remedies (Antony Barnett, The Observer [UK], 17 June 2001)

Intellectual property rights and human rights: Report of the Secretary-General (United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 14 June 2001)

• {···español: Derechos de propiedad intelectual y derechos humanos: Informe del Secretario General}

Protecting the traditional knowledge of the poor nations: The world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) no longer have to sit back and see their traditional knowledge, folklore and genetic resources robbed by global players in possession of the most modern know-how and financial muscle.  This is at least what Roberto Castelo, deputy director-general of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), says. (Ramesh Jaura, Inter Press Service, 16 May 2001)

RIGHTS: Defending Indigenous Cultures against Globalisation (Kintto Lucas, Inter Press Service, 8 May 2001)

Commissioner [European Commissioner for Trade] Defends TRIPS but Acknowledges NGO Concerns (EuropaWorld, 23 Mar. 2001)

Tripping Over Patents: AIDS, Access to Treatment and the Manufacturing of Scarcity [includes extensive material on South Africa] (Jonathan Michael Berger, 2001)

2000:

Who Has the Right to Know? (Cees J. Hamelink, Professor of International Communication at University of Amsterdam, in UNRISD News [U.N. Research Institute for Social Development Bulletin], no. 23, autumn/winter 2000)

• {···español: ¿Quién tiene derecho al conocimiento?}

• {···français: Qui a le droit de savoir?}

Rampant biopiracy of South's biodiversity (Someshwar Singh, SUNS [South-North Development Monitor], 20 July 2000)

ASEAN for Protecting Indigenous/Traditional Knowledge (Chakravarthi Raghavan, Third World Network, 5 May 2000)

Biotechnology and Indigenous Peoples (Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Jan. 2000, to appear in Brian Tokar [ed.], Redesigning Life [London: Zed Books Ltd, forthcoming])

1999:

Impacts of WTO On The Environment, Cultures and Indigenous Peoples (Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Director of Tebtebba Foundation [Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education] and Convenor of Asia Indigenous Women's Network, 29 Nov. 1999)

Indigenous Peoples' Caucus Statement, presented at the "Roundtable on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge", World Intellectual Property Rights Organization, Geneva, 2 Nov. 1999

Report: An Indigenous Peoples' Information And Strategy Meeting On The World Trade Organization (30-31 Oct. 1999, Geneva)

Protecting IPRs [Intellectual Property Rights] of Local & Indigenous Communities (Chakravarthi Raghavan, Third World Network, 12 Oct. 1999)

Mexico: It's bio-plunder, not benefit-sharing (Chakravarthi Raghavan, SUNS, 3 Oct. 1999)

1998:

Kerala Tribe Accuses Indian Biologists of Stealing Knowledge [India] (J. John and Sindhu Menon, Panos, 6 Aug. 1998)

1997:

INDIA-TRADE: Bio-Piracy Campaign Exposes Holes in U.S. Patent Laws (Bijoy Basant Patro, Inter Press Service, 4 Sep. 1997)

ECUADOR-US: Controversial Patent Agreement up for Revision (Mario Gonzalez, Inter Press Service, 7 Aug. 1997)