c Article 27.

3 of the TRIPS Agreement

stipulates that WTO members
extend patent protection to micro
organisms and non-biological and
micro-biological processes
c Members are also requested to
protect plant varieties either through
patent or an effective R

R or
combination of both and they are
due for review.
Plant Breeders rights

c The sui generis option is the

key.In Latin it means µof it¶s own
kind¶
c TRIPS allows this«««
c But US and other patent holding
countries would like to eliminate
this provision as it allows for
alternatives to patent
2

R acts as a key
to allow government to
implement another
International Treaty.The
Convention on Biological
Diversity
 ènowledge Intensive Biotech
Industry cannot do without patents

c Companies plough some 45% of

their annual income into R&D
c Nearly half the value of the
industry is embedded in it¶s
intellectual capital
c
 
 
  
 

 
  



c 

 
 
  


c ‰ence Biotech companies feel
that their heavy investment in
knowledge is worth it.‰ence
patenting is important to
researchers.It acts as an incentive
for them to continue researching
c While protection of IP is essential
excessive protection can restrict
consumption limit product
availability and maintain
unnecessary high prices
c 

 

 
   


 

 

 
  

c But at present the dimension of
IPR are becoming unimaginable
from what it was in 1950¶s and
1960¶s
c Application of those rules to the
biotechnology innovation has
become a major public challenge
c thics are used to justify patent
exclusion in every country in
OCD urope as well as in
Japan,èorea and New Zealand
c Only Australia, Canada and US do
not recognize such general
grounds for exclusion
c As ethics involved to prevent
‰uman cloning and animal
suffering due to experimentation.
 WTO & GMO
c After 1994 one of the issue that was not a
high priority at that time but is very
much so now is the trade of genetically
engineered or modified organisms
c GMO foods or seeds for food crops and
other products with altered DNA.
The industries ties to GMO are
affected by 3 significant
agreements
c AOA
c SPS Agreement
c Agreement on TRIPS
WTO membership remains vertically divided on
the issue of Trade in GMO¶s
  



!
 & 
 

"#$%  
 
 
''
'"#$%

Unless the potential effects are known on GMO¶s

ban should continue
Mandatory labeling to segregate GM food and
Organic Food
Consumers should be able to make informed choice
c Consumers attitude to risk and
government approaches to food
safety and quality vary
significantly from country to
country.