Lomé's biopiracy clause

Greens / EFA Group in the European Parliament Press Release Brussels, 2 February 2000

DROP THE BIOPIRACY CLAUSE, LOME MINISTERS URGED GREENS/EFA CONDEMN LOME BIO-PATENT MANOEUVRE

The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament are urging delegates to the ACP-EU negotiations on renewing the Lome Convention to drop or modify Article 46 of the text which would permit world-wide patents on genetic resources, including human, plant and animal genes.

"This would be a BioPiracy charter" said Paul Lannoye MEP, President of the Group. "The ACP countries are home to much of the world's biodiversity and primary genetic resources. It is precisely these areas which have been subject to intensive bio-prospecting by the genetic engineering industry. Developing countries have been demanding a revision of the WTO/TRIPS Agreements to eliminate mandatory patenting in these areas and world opinion is beginning to turn against the granting of monopoly ownership of genetic material. It would be pure folly for the ACP Ministers to sign up to this Article and commit themselves to such an intellectual property regime".

"This is a further attempt to impose the northern model of patenting on the genetic resources of the South" said Caroline Lucas MEP. "It seeks to pre-empt discussions which have not yet begun within the WTO about the future of the TRIPs Agreement. At the very least, the text should be a neutral one which leaves open the options of alternative systems of protection. The Convention on Biological Diversity requires that indigenous knowledge, innovations and practices be preserved and that their use by others should be with their consent and to their benefit. This Article would take away those rights and must be rejected in its present form."

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Article 46 - Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

1. The Parties recognise the need to ensure an adequate and effective level of protection of intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights, including protection of geographical indications, in line with the international standards with a view to reducing distortions and impediments to bilateral trade.

2. They underline the importance, in this context, of adherence to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to the WTO Agreement.

3. They also agree on the need, for the ACP States, to accede to all relevant international conventions on intellectual, industrial and commercial property as referred to in Part I of the TRIPS Agreement, in line with their level of development.

4. The Community, its Member States and the ACP States state their readiness, to conclude agreements aimed at protecting trademarks and geographical indications for products of particular interest of either Party.

5. For the purpose of this Agreement, intellectual property includes in particular copyright, including the copyright on computer programmes and neighbouring rights, including artistic designs, and industrial property which includes utility models, patents including patents for bio-technological inventions and plant varieties or other effective sui generis systems such as UPOV, industrial designs, geographical indications including appellations of origin, trademarks for goods or services, topographies of integrated circuits as well as the legal protection of data bases and the protection against unfair competition as referred to in Article 10 bis of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and protection of undisclosed confidential information on know how.

6. The Parties further agree to strengthen their co-operation in this field. Co-operation shall, in particular, extend to the following areas: the preparation of laws and regulations for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, the prevention of the abuse of such rights by rightholders and the infringement of such rights by competitors, the establishment and reinforcement of domestic and regional offices and other agencies including support for regional intellectual property organisations involved in enforcement and protection, including the training of personnel.