Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights - ActionAid

Trade Related Intellectual Property RightsTrade Related Intellectual Property RightsSummaryFarming is the main source of livelihood for three quarters of theworld’s population living in rural areas. In developing countries,small farmers dominate food production and using traditionalagricultural practices, meet the food requirements of around66% of the world’s population. The introduction of intellectualproperty rules on plants and seeds under WTO’s Agreement onTrade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)could damage the livelihoods of these 1.4 billion farmersworldwide and undermine food sovereignty and food security.Much attention has been given to the issue of TRIPSand pharmaceutical drugs but, through ourexperience of working with small farmers indeveloping countries, ActionAid believes that theimpact of TRIPS on farming and food sovereigntyposes threats of equal significance.Before the WTO’s Uruguay Round, intellectualproperty laws were a matter for domestic policy.But the introduction of the TRIPS Agreement madeit mandatory for all WTO members to provide forinternationally acceptable and enforceable patentprotection for new inventions in all areas oftechnology. For the first time, TRIPS is forcingdeveloping countries to extend intellectual propertyrights to plant varieties and seeds withconsequential impacts on agriculture.Intellectual property protection as construed underTRIPS could be applied very broadly to allowmonopoly rights over individual plant genes and theircharacteristics. This would imply the removal offarmers' rights over seeds and propagating materialshaving such genes and characteristics, thusthreatening the centuries old practice of saving,using, exchanging and selling farm-saved seed.Patents effectively block competition for 20 yearsand enable the patent holder to set the market pricefor the product. Six multinationals control around70% of the patents held on staple food crops. Theuse of patented seeds, plants and geneticallymodified animals would make small farmersdependent on the corporations that own the patents.In turn, this could lead to fundamental changes inthe way agriculture is practiced in developingcountries by facilitating the growth of agri-businessand the decline of small farms and biodiversity. Inaddition, if the use of patented seeds became thenorm, private corporations would dominate theworld’s food supply.ActionAid is calling on theWTO and its members:• to support the African Group's proposal to clarify“that plants and animals as well as microorganismsand all other living organisms and theirparts cannot be patented and that naturalprocesses that produce plants, animals and otherliving organisms should also not be patentable” 1• to confirm that the rights of small farmers to save,use, exchange and sell farm saved seed for bothprotected and patented varieties will be recognised1Joint Communication from the African Group to the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (2003) Taking Forward The Review Of Article 27.3(b)of the TRIPS Agreement, IP/C/W/404, WTO, Geneva, 26 June2 fighting poverty together