A joint campaign by India and Brazil with other developing countries to amend the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement so as to include the protection of ‘traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore’ is being opposed by the developed world led by countries like the US, Australia and Japan. But the first ever meeting on these three branches of intellectual property currently not covered by TRIPS held at the initiative of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the capital today is being viewed as a sign of progress by India.
N N Prasad, joint secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion said: ?The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues regarding traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore cannot be dealt with a singular kind of thinking. Developed countries need to build a sense of confidence among developing countries who would like to see these aspects included in the Substantive Patent Law Treaty.? The government has been interacting with the USPTO and the meeting today, the first such initiative by a developed country on this subject, must be applauded, Prasad stressed.
?India, with a 5,000-year-old culture and tremendous bio-diversity, strongly believes in protection of traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore and hopes that an international consensus will build regarding this issue. India would like disclosure, prior informed consent and equitable access and benefit sharing to be included in international instruments regarding IPR. We have already created a digital knowledge library cataloguing 170,000 traditional medicines so that absence of information does not result in improper granting of patents,? Prasad pointed out.
?India is willing to share with its digital knowledge library on 170,000 traditional medicines with the USPTO and its European counterpart on the condition that it should not be put in the public domain,? Prasad said. But the US is insisting that such a database be made public because as per its laws patents, if any such prior knowledge is in public domain, it can be cited against the patent applicant to ensure that patents are given only for completely new inventions.
First secretary for Intellectual Property at the U S Embassy in New Delhi, Dominic Keating said, ?Washington believes that including new disclosure requirements in IPR laws may be detrimental to innovation. In addition, it would not be an effective means to ensure prior informed consent, access to genetic resources and equitable benefit sharing.?
The three-day meeting that kicked off today is being attended by representatives from the Saarc nations, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the US. The meeting is a precursor to the global Intellectual Property (IP) Day on April 26.