ECONOMY  

Kathmandu Monday June 11, 2001 Jestha 29,  2058.

TRIPs agreement to be reviewed

By Bhaskar Sharma

KATHMANDU, June 10 - The World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat is to begin reviewing the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), the most controversial agreement drawn so far under the multilateral trading framework, anytime soon.

This would be the first time after the WTO came into being in 1995 that the agreement would be reviewed. The holistic review of the TRIPs agreement is being undertaken as per the understanding reached during the Uruguay round of talks, where participating member countries had failed to reach a consensus on the issue.

The review also comes by virtue of clause 27.3b in the TRIPs agreement that allows provisions related to patenting of life forms and protection of plants through patents or sui generis system to be re-looked into.

The review of the provision on patenting of life forms and protection of plant life was actually slated to take place in 1999, four years after the WTO came into being, but could not be completed following the failed round of ministerial talks in Seattle, USA in November/December 1999.

Apart from that provided by the clause in the TRIPs agreement, the Uruaguay round then had decided to review the TRIPs agreement, among others, in the year 2000. The other agreements, in addition to TRIPs, that were to be reviewed include the Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs), Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) and General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS). While the agreements on AOA and GATS are currently being reviewed, TRIMs agreement is yet to be to reconsidered.

The latest decision to review the TRIPs agreement, starting this month, comes as sweet music to most developing and under-developed nations that had vehemently been opposing the tight provisions of the agreement.

The review will be carried out on the basis of the grievances and suggestions placed in by the WTO member countries. Since Nepal is yet to join the WTO, Nepal will have no say in the overall process. "Nepal, as an observer, can not place in its suggestions. However, Nepal’s interests will be catered to from the regional level, namely SAARC," said Jib Raj Koirala of the WTO cell, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, talking to The Kathmandu Post.

The TRIPs agreement contains provisions that gives sweeping rights to trans-national and multi-national companies of the North to protect their patents, and it is the Southern countries that has been facing the heat of such provisions.

Among others, developing and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are pressing for some major changes in the provisions contained in the TRIPs agreement. The pressure is on to relax compulsory licensing and parallel imports provisions, which would ensure availability of life saving drugs to many of the third world economies.

In addition, poorer economies have also been demanding the scrapping of the provisions relating to patenting of life forms and bio-diversity, which clearly are against the interests of the poor countries who cannot afford to spend the time and money for the purpose.

Poorer countries are also raising their voice that the TRIPs agreement should comply with the provisions of Convention on Bio-Diversity (CBD), which was signed in Brazil in 1992. The CBD, among others, has provisions allowing sharing of benefits between companies holding patent rights and the country from where the original plant species have been patented.

United States had not ratified the CBD where 177 other countries had done. The TRIPs agreement was made up to the WTO books due to strong lobby of the United States. USA then had sailed through the agreement threatening the protesting countries of unilateral sanctions.

Meanwhile, back home, a study is being carried out to form a modality of the domestic Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime by studying the impact of the TRIPs agreement on India, South Africa, Thailand and Brazil. Forum for Protection of Public Interest (Pro-Public) is carrying out the study.

"The study will draw the modality of Nepal’s IPR rules. It will determine the kind of IPR regime required in Nepal and look into the legislative and damage control measures, among others, as well," said Ratnakar Adhikari, Treasurer of Pro-Public.