Biopiracy

by Jan Priegnitz ©®™ 1

Structure

     history about patents in general the value of biodiversity examples of biopiracy international agreements persons and NGOs involved in the counter-movement 2

1474 – the senate of Venice enacts a law for the protection of inventors 1500 1600 1700

History

1873 – Louis Pasteur receives the first patent on a living organism in the USA (purified yeast) 1973 – signing of the European Patent Agreement 1800 1900 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1997 – introduction of resowing-fees in Germany 2000 1623/24 – first law for the protection of intellectual property rights in England 1988 – US patent office grants the first patent on a mammal (cancer mouse) Until 2001 the EPO granted 267 patents on plants, 69 on animals and 962 on human genes.

3



Requirements and power of patents

criteria of patentability • novelty • inventiveness and • usefulness    deadline for raising an objection lasts 9 months valid for 20 years second registration of the same kind is impossible in another country  costs for a patent are about 30000 €, the EPO gets 5000 €, plus annual fees, the profit in 1999 was 125 mio. € 4

Cupuaçu Hoodia Basmati

5

Origin of the word “biopiracy”

 for the first time introduced by the RAFI in 1993  Definition of the ETC Group: "the appropriation of the knowledge and genetic resources of farming and indigenous communities by individuals or institutions seeking exclusive monopoly control knowledge.” (usually patents or plant breeders' rights) over these resources and 6

Cupuaçu

   similar to cocoa traditionally used for juice, ice-cream, marmelade and gateaus the japanese corporation Asahi registered the name and applied for a patent for its use   protest: chocolate made of Cupuaçu is sold by third world-stores not successful yet 7

Hoodia-Cactus

   growing in the Kalahari desert used as an appetite suppressant by the San tribe was patented in order to sell diet pills  Benefit Sharing: Pfizer and Phytopharm will pay 6 % of all royalties (only 0.003% of netto sales) 8

Basmati

 27 varieties grown in India  patent by RiceTec. Inc. in Alvin, Texas, USA with support by the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute)  India won the trial 9

International agreements

be-tt-e-r

   ITPGRFA (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture) CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)

w-o-r-s-e

 UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants)   TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property rights) DIRECTIVE 98/44/EC on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions 10

Vandana Shiva

    “Biopiracy deprives us in three ways: 1. It creates a false claim to novelty and invention, even though the knowledge has evolved since ancient times as part of the collective and intellectual heritage of India.

2. It divests scarce biological resources to monopoly control of corporations thus depriving local communities the benefits of its use.

3. It creates market monopolies and excludes the original innovators (farmers) from their rightful share to local, national and global markets.” 11

Richard Stallman

„It is indeed wrong for biotech companies to convert the world's natural genetic resources into private monopolies - but the wrong is not a matter of taking someone else's rightful property, it is a matter of privatizing what ought to be public. These companies are not biopirates. They are bioprivateers.“ 12

“sliced fried sausage sprinkled with curry powder and served with ketchup – really delicious”

http://archiv.greenpeace.de/GP_GRAFIK/KARTEN/CURRYPAT.PDF

13

Opinion poll by emnid in Germany

Do you think it's right if companies and institutes What is the best way to prevent patents on life?

both no information not at all 3% 2% 13%

are granted patents on genes, plants, animals and parts of the human body?

no information 3% right 13% industry and business do without voluntarily 21% forbidden by policy 61% w rong 84% 14

Intellectual property rights of my sources owned by

www.ipcb.org

www.amazonlink.org/biopiracy/index.htm

www.biowatch.org.za/csir-san.htm

www.greenpeace.org

www.stallman.org/articles/biopiracy.html

15

Questions for discussion

 What should be able to be patented? (technology, procedures, ideas, information, traditional knowledge, art, life...)    How strong should be patent protection? Are patents enforcing or preventing research?

How do patents on plants affect the work of plant breeders?  How can "fair trade"/benefit-sharing be managed?

16