Held on 13 March 2008, the meeting of the World Trade Organization Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) was marked by further support for an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement to include a mandatory requirement to disclose the origin of biological resources and/or associated traditional knowledge in patent applications, as well as evidence of compliance with prior informed consent and fair and equitable sharing of benefits.

Initially proposed by a group of developing countries led by India and Brazil, the proposal has subsequently gained the support of the African Group and the group of Least Developed Countries. Following the announcement that the Dominican Republic and the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries also back the proposal, it was noted during the TRIPS Council meeting that nearly 80 of the WTO’s 151 members now support the amendment. The US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Korea did not consider a disclosure requirement to be the most efficient way to address biopiracy and reiterated they did not believe a conflict existed between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The EU stated that it was prepared to negotiate a disclosure of origin requirement, while noting it would not support requirements for either prior informed consent or proof of equitable benefit sharing. In addtion, the EU said the World Intellectual Property Organization, rather than the WTO, was the appropriate forum for discussions on disclosure.
Links to further information
IP Watch, 14 March 2008
Bridges Trade BioRes, 20 March 2008