DIIP Monthly Update – September 2017
This update provides a snapshot of the activities of the Development, Innovation and Intellectual Property Programme during the month of September 2017.
Genetic Resources & TK
Research Paper 79, September 2017
Access to and Benefit-Sharing of Marine Genetic Resources beyond National Jurisdiction: Developing a New Legally Binding Instrument
This paper examines the underlying principles and main elements of binding and non-binding international instruments relating to access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources. It discusses the gap left by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and some of the elements that might be considered in developing a new legally-binding instrument on access and benefit-sharing derived from the exploitation of marine genetic resources found in areas beyond national jurisdiction, as mandated by the United Nations General Assembly. (more…)
Research Paper 75, March 2017
Implementing Farmers’ Rights Relating to Seeds
The concept of Farmers’ Rights recognized the role of farmers as custodians of biodiversity and helped to draw attention to the need to preserve practices that are essential for sustainable agriculture. This paper examines one particular aspect of such rights, perhaps the most controversial. It deals with the component of farmers’ rights referring to the use, exchange and sale of farm-saved seeds. Although that concept was initially introduced in 1989 with the aim of balancing the rights of farmers as breeders and of commercial plant breeders, a specific reference to the rights relating to seeds was only introduced upon the conclusion of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) in 2001.
Analytical Note, March 2017
The TRIPS and WTO Negotiations: Stakes for Africa
This paper discusses the current negotiation issues in the context of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the position the African Group has taken in these negotiations. (more…)
Statement, October 2016
South Centre Statement to the WIPO Assemblies 2016
The statement highlights that the greatest challenge for developing countries and LDCs in the area of intellectual property (IP) is the proliferation of regional and bilateral trade and investment agreements that impose IP obligations, together with the coercive external political and economic pressure to restrain from making use of the flexibilities in the IP system.
Book by the South Centre, 2011
Food Security and Access and Benefit-Sharing for Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
About the book: A study prepared for the UN FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) on whether, and how, national and regional laws, guidelines and other arrangements on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing (ABS) may impact upon agriculture and food security.
Authors: Gurdial Singh Nijar, Gan Pei Fern, Lee Yin Harn and Chan Hui Yun
Statement, 17 March 2016
South Centre intervention to the UPOV Consultative Committee on the issue of interrelations with the FAO ITPGRFA
The South Centre participates as an observer in the ongoing process for the “identification of possible areas of interrelations between the FAO ITPGRFA, especially its Article 9 on Farmers’ Rights, and relevant instruments of UPOV and WIPO.” It seeks to promote an outcome that (more…)
IP Negotiations Monitor 16, January 2016
The IP Negotiations Monitor summarizes the latest developments in multilateral and regional fora where intellectual property negotiations are taking place, and informs on upcoming meetings and events.
(Covering period: October-December 2015) (more…)
Policy Brief 22, September 2015
The WIPO Negotiations on IP, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge: Can It Deliver?
There has been much expectation on what the Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) can deliver on intellectual property aspects of the protection of genetic resources (GRs), traditional knowledge (TK) and related traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). Results from fourteen years of extensive study, analysis and discussion have been distilled into three negotiating texts. But in July 2014, negotiations suffered a reversal. (more…)
Policy Brief 18, May 2015
The Nagoya Protocol: Main Characteristics, Challenges and Opportunities
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force in October 2014. Its provisions clearly reflect the need for countries to set up access and benefit sharing rules and procedures for the Protocol’s implementation at the national level. (more…)
Policy Brief 17, March 2015
Towards a More Coherent International Legal System on Farmers’ Rights: The Relationship of the FAO ITPGRFA, UPOV and WIPO
This Policy Brief outlines some key areas of interrelation among the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). (more…)
Statement, 13-17 October 2014
South Centre Statement on Coming into Force of Nagoya Protocol
The following is a Statement by the South Centre on the coming into force of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. (more…)