Activities of Catherine GRÈZE related to 2012/2135(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Development aspects of intellectual property rights on genetic resources (short presentation)
Reports (1)
REPORT on development aspects of intellectual property rights on genetic resources: the impact on poverty reduction in developing countries PDF (236 KB) DOC (145 KB)
Amendments (30)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
- having regard to the activities and reports of the WIPO Inter Governmental Committee on IP and GR, TK and Traditional cultural expressions;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas biopiracy usually refers to a situation in which biological resources are taken from local communities or indigenous people and are privatised through patenting while the resulting profits do not benefit the communities which originated the resources;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas the CBD requires from bioprospectors to obtain "prior informed consent" (PIC) from and reach "mutually agreed terms" (MAT) with countries of origin or local and indigenous communities and to share benefits from bioprospecting with countries and communities of origin;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
D c. whereas the evolving ABS regime under the CDB operates within a complex multi-institutional governance architectures including the WTO with its Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (WTO-TRIPS); the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), the World Health Organisation (WHO); and whereas, in addition, the Antarctic Treaty (AT) and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provide relevant frameworks for ABS governance in areas outside national jurisdiction;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
D d. whereas ABS governance is also reflected in a number of human-rights instruments, including the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas biodiversity provides a great range of ecosystem services, such as local water, food provision, materials for sustaining livelihoods and climate regulation; and whereas environmental degradation pose new challenges for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of a wide range of species and GR as a base for food security and sustainable agricultural development;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), that was negotiated within the ambit of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), aims at the conservation and sustainable use of plant GR for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the CBD;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the OECD members rely strongly on genetic resources for imported food and agricultural productsrom abroad for plant and animal breeding, thereby making international cooperation on the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources essential;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas estimates indicate that three- quarters of the world's population depend on natural traditional medicines and that approximately half of synthetic drugs have a natural origin;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
F b. whereas several international conventions and agreements address the subject of traditional knowledge, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIPS), the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
F c. whereas article 8 (j) of the CBD commits parties to respect, preserve and maintain TK and to "encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation" of such knowledge;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas in 2009, the WIPO General Assembly instructed the IGC to develop an international instrument to protect genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol constitute the main global framework for governance of access and benefit sharing (ABS); notes that governance related to IPRs, genetic resources and poverty alleviation also concern the WTO, FAO, WHO and WIPO, thereby raising challenges in terms of ensuring a coherent approach in their support of the CBD regime; insists that these international institutions should be supportive of and not run counter to the CDB regime;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Highlights that the achievement of MDG 1 depends among others on how we manage agricultural ecosystems; stresses, in this context, that while reducing the negative impact that agriculture may have on the environment requires a wide range of crop genetic diversities to ensure better ecosystem service provision, crop diversity enables specifically poor and small-holder farmers to diversify their diets and incomes; stresses equally that crop genetic diversity confers resilience regarding climate change;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Recalls that "farmer exception", under the UPOV Convention, is especially important for developing countries as it allows farmers to save seeds deriving from new varieties and to re-sow them for usual food purposes (thereby enhancing food security); regrets however that, while it is in developing countries' interest to keep and extend exemptions from plant breeder's rights, farmers' rights have become weakened in consecutive reforms of the UPOV Convention;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Notes that FAO is taking a leading role in developing specialised ABS regimes relevant for food and agriculture, calls on the EU to support developing countries' requests to ensuring appropriate BS in any new sectoral mechanisms/instruments under the FAO as well as ensuring consistency with and enhancing synergy with the CDB and its Nagoya Protocol;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. Recalls that GR contribute significantly to pharmaceutical R&D and access to medicine; reasserts that IPRs should not hinder access to affordable medicines, especially where such IPRs rely on GR that originate from developing countries;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7 d. Calls on the EU to refrain from pushing developing countries, especially LDCs, through bilateral agreements to accept far-reaching IP standards regarding i.e. seeds and medicines;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that fighting biopiracy entails the implementation and upgrading of the existing arrangements for multilateral access and benefit sharing in the areas of agriculture and health, such as the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), i.e. by considering new ways to raise resources for the Benefit-Sharing Fund; or the WHO's Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out that three quarters of the plants used in modern medicine come from traditional medicine; believes that biopiracy means there is a strong case forthe existence of biopiracy makes it essential to protecting traditional knowledge, particularly when it is associated with genetic resources of economic value to the pharmaceuticals industry;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Regrets that traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is not covered by any of the Nagoya Protocol's monitoring measuresNotes with concern that some difficulties of TK holders include monitoring and enforcement, i.e. learning that violations have taken place and obtaining timely remedies; regrets in this context that traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is not covered by any of the Nagoya Protocol's monitoring measures: there is no obligation to disclose to the "checkpoint" information on the TK used while the internationally recognised certificate of compliance does not cover TK associated with GR, which limits possibilities of tracing biopiracy related to such TK; takes the view that the EU should grant traditional knowledge at least the same level of protection as genetic resources when implementing the Nagoya Protocol;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Stresses that regulations taken to protect GR and their associated TK must comply with international commitments taken on the promotion and respect of the rights of indigenous peoples as enshrined in the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the 1989 ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (No 169);
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Notes that one important difference between the US-American and the European System is the understanding of novelty; takes the view that the international order regulating IP, GR and TK should make a clear distinction between invention and discovery and by applying a standard of absolute novelty;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Points out that biopiracy can be attributed to the lack of national regulations and enforcement mechanisms in developing countries and the lack of a compliance mechanism in developed countries, ensuring that GR have been acquired in accordance with PIC and MAT in compliance with provider countries' national ABS legislation; welcomes, in this context, the draft regulation submitted by the Commission whose objective is to implement the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing; insists equally upon the importance to provide effective recourse mechanisms in case of disputes and access to justice;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Recalls that effective implementation of the Protocol depends on actions to be taken both in developing and developed countries; notes that the elaboration of ABS legislation in developing countries is a precondition for the obligation of user countries to comply with Prior Informed Consent (PIC) requirements; points out however that this request poses a real challenge for them as it requires substantial legal and institutional capacity building;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Regrets the lack of clear statistics on biopiracy and misappropriation, and calls on the EU to support the setting up of an independent body to remedy this situation; stresses also that better data is needed on the number and content of ABS contracts: considers that this could be gathered by setting up a notification and database system through the CBD Clearing-House Mechanism;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Stresses that an international instrument comprising disclosure requirements and databases for genetic resources protection is not a substitute for an effective access and benefit sharing mechanism at the national level;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Takes the view that direct notification of companies using genetic resources or associated traditional knowledge, utilisation of certificates compliance and exploration of litigation options within and outside the national jurisdiction, can also effectively contribute to curb potential biopiracy cases;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Insists that WTO-TRIPS should be compatible with the CBD-Nagoya Protocol, and therefore considers it crucial to establish mandatory requirements on disclosing the origin of genetic resources during patent proceedings, and thus to allow to check whether they were acquired legally in accordance with PIC and MAT;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that such requirements could be introduced via an amendment of the WTO- TRIPS Agreement or under WIPO; likewise takes the view that the EU should establish a clear mandatory requirement to disclose the o, within the context of the ongoing discussions on the setting-up of a new international legal instrument(s) for the effective protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions; in particular, calls on the EU to support, in line with PCD, the request of developing countries to amend the WTO-TRIPS Agreement by inserting a new Article 29 bis on Disclosure of Origin of any gGenetic rResources and a/or Associated tTraditional kKnowledge in patent applications in EU legislation in the absence of an international agreementaccordance with the Nagoya Protocol; welcomes in this context, that the EU Draft regulation on Access to Genetic resources and Benefit sharing foresees mandatory requirement to disclose the origin of any genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in patent applications;