media advisory
friends of the earth International
next trade battle: patents on life
HONG KONG (CHINA), December 15, 2005 --
Trade campaigners warned today that another
battle over the highly controversial WTO
agreement known as TRIPS ('Trade-related
aspects of Intellectual Property Rights') is
gathering momentum because of the ways the
agreement undermines farmers', Indigenous
Peoples' and communities' rights. [1]
"The TRIPs agreement undermines basic
human rights by allowing large biotechnology
companies to "buy" and patent the seeds,
crops, medicines and traditional knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples and local communities,"
said in Hong Kong Friends of the Earth
International Trade Campaigner Alberto
Villarreal from Uruguay.
TRIPS obliges the 149 WTO member countries
to protect intellectual property rights
(IPRs) relating to pl ant varieties and micro
biological processes, using patents and other
similar IPR systems.
"In addition to privatizing and
commercializing the resources and knowledge
which form part of the heritage of
communities and Indigenous Peoples, TRIPs has
led to a further marginalization of these
communities," added Friends of the Earth
International Trade Campaigner Alberto
Villarreal.
TRIPs is yet another example of the many
ways in which WTO rules prevent the
development of fair and sustainable
societies. TRIPS furthers biopiracy, the
privatization and unauthorized use of
biological resources by entities such as
corporations. Women are particularly
impacted, as they are often responsible for
collecting food and medicinal resources for
their families and play a major role in
traditional seed saving systems.
African governments, Indigenous Peoples
and NGOs have long argued that the benefi ts
of biodiversity and related traditional
knowledge cannot be shared in a fair and
equitable manner as long as the current TRIPs
agreement obliges countries to impose patents
(or other rigid intellectual property rights
systems) on life forms.
for more information
contact Friends of the Earth International
in Hong Kong:
Alberto Villarreal Friends of the Earth
International Trade Campaign (Spanish,
English) +852 6127 0200 (Dec. 15-19) or
comercioredes@gmail.com
David Waskow, Friends of the Earth
International Trade Campaign (Dec. 15-19)
+852 6127 8644 or dwaskow@foe.org
Simone Lovera, Friends of the Earth
International biodiversity project
coordinator (Dutch, English, Spanish)
+852-61257897 (Dec. 15-19) or
simone@foei.org
notes to editors
[1] Negotiations on the conflict between
TRIPS and the United Nations Convention on
Biodiversity will continue in January at the
UN.
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