TRIPS: Rape of the century?

by Gina Mission Another rape is in the making. In fact, the crime is a rea!y !one, consummate! beyon! reasonab e !oubt, accor!ing to Masipag, a "aguna#base! partnership of farmers an! scientists $ho !e%e op their o$n see! %arieties for non#profit !istribution to rura farmers. &ut un ike the rape of $omen an! chi !ren $hich !ra$s pub ic anguish an! egis ate! measures against it, on y a fe$ peop e are $eeping. '''An! the go%ernment may be party to it. '''It a starte! $hen the Phi ippine go%ernment became a signatory of the (or ! Tra!e )rgani*ation +(T),, $hose agreement on TRIPS +Tra!e#Re ate! Aspects of Inte ectua Property Rights, is hot y conteste! by se%era countries. TRIPS co%ers se%era forms of inte ectua property rights +IPR, such as patents, copyrights an! tra!emarks. '''The TRIPS agreement re-uires ratification by the egis ature by the year .///, after $hich (T) member countries must enact IPR egis ation on p ant %arieties. )nce ratifie!, the TRIPS agreement $i a o$ transnationa corporations +T01s, an! scientists to obtain e2c usi%e ega rights o%er see!s that oca farmers are current y using, $ithout any recognition of their rights. '''3&iopiracy,3 is ho$ Masipag members !escribe it. '''Its critics say that TRIPS is e2treme y !etrimenta to !e%e oping countries ike the Phi ippines. As it is, 4/ per cent of the patents in the country are a rea!y o$ne! by foreigners. '''Anti#TRIPS a!%ocates say that opening the country5s ife resources to foreign patents $i mere y ser%e to gi%e outsi!ers, most y T01s from rich countries, broa!er o$nership rights o%er the !omestic economy than stimu ate nationa inno%ation, research an! !e%e opment. '''The e2tent to $hich (T)#TRIPS $i go%ern the ega status of bio!i%ersity is e2treme y contro%ersia . 6or the ast ./ years, says Masipag e2ecuti%e !irector 7mmanue 8ap, go%ernments ha%e been fighting o%er $ho shou ! contro genetic resources an! $ho shou ! benefit from them. '''The 1on%ention on &io!i%ersity +1&9, is one of the most recent too s !e%e ope! by the internationa community to try an! reach agreement on this. Accor!ing to Masipag, to some e2tent, 1&9 recogni*es that in!igenous an! oca communities ha%e intrinsic rights to bio!i%ersity an! tra!itiona kno$ e!ge $hich shou ! therefore not be pri%ati*e! for the benefit of a fe$ a one. '''31&95s recognition of in!igenous rights o%er bio!i%ersity is %ery important because biopiracy is happening e%ery$here to!ay, as corporations c aim rights to $hat 1&9 is trying to protect,3 says 8ap. '''&ut (T) an! its TRIPS Agreement, comp ains Masipag, messes up the 1on%ention. 3It goes comp ete y in the !irection of egitimi*ing biopiracy on a g oba sca e, sen!ing any po itica or ega a!%ance for the rights of oca communities straight to the gutter,3 says the group in a statement. '''Masipag farmers an! scientists a ege that the TRIPS issue $as force! by the :S into the :ruguay Roun! agen!a in ;<==, c aiming that American companies $ere osing >.? bi ion per year !ue to theft of their inte ectua property rights. Their argument is that countries $hich !on5t offer a!e-uate IPR +for American pro!ucts, or e%en a o$ counterfeiting are pre%enting egitimate tra!e +for American corporations,.

'''&ut that is not a . 3The bigger scan!a in TRIPS is that it $i pro%i!e patent ho !ers $ith @inte ectua monopo ies5 o%er bio!i%ersity. An! the great $ea th of that bio!i%ersity comes from the farms, fie !s an! forests of !e%e oping countries of the South. The 0orth has ong been !epen!ent an! has profite! from it. 0o$ $ith sophisticate! too s ike genetic engineering, $hich a o$s scientists to mo%e genes from one species to another, companies $ant to cash in on the e%er increasing %a ue of bio!i%ersity,3 says 8ap. '''T01s, 8ap continues, are in%esting massi%e y in mo!ern biotechno ogy hoping to generate ne$ profits, particu ar y in the foo! an! pharmaceutica sectors. '''Masipag reports that ast year, RiceTec, Inc. of Te2as $as grante! :S patent ABCC?D=D on Basmati rice, taken from In!ia an! Pakistan. The patent gi%es RiceTec a monopo y on Basmati. RiceTec a so ho !s :S P ant Eariety Protection 1ertificate A<////4B an! an internationa tra!emark on Jasmati rice # conFure! as a cross bet$een Thai an!5s Jasmine rice an! In!iaGPakistan5s Basmati. '''Accor!ing to Masipag, among the string of high y contro%ersia biopiracy cases $hich stan! to benefit patent#ho !ing corporations un!er the TRIPS agreement are turmeric, ayahuasca, an! quinoa. These p ants ha%e been use! by communities $here they originate! centuries before T01s !isco%ere! them. '''In the Phi ippines, 8%es Saint "aurent or 8S", an Ita ian outfit kno$n in the fashion $or ! for its bran! of perfumes, has engage! a municipa ity in 0egros )cci!enta in a contract gro$ing scheme for Ilang Ilang. A nati%e tree in the Phi ippines that bears s$eet scente! f o$ers, Ilang Ilang are usua y bea!e! into neck aces a ong $ith the country5s nationa f o$er, Sampaguita. 8S" no$ o$ns a patent to e2tract oi from the Ilang Ilang to be use! in the pro!uction of a commercia perfume. '''Accor!ing to Masipag, the oca saluyot, sambong, banaba, lagundi, nata de coco an! a host of many other en!emic species of p ants an! anima s, inc u!ing human genes, ha%e been or are in the process of being subFecte! to inte ectua property protection through the (T) un!er the TRIPS Agreement. '''The 3p ant %arieties c ause3 of the treaty $i be re%ie$e! by the (T) member#states this year. Many P)s, 0G)s, scientists an! po icy makers aroun! the $or ! $ant that c ause trashe! from the treaty. Accor!ing to Masipag, the go%ernments of In!ia an! Thai an! # $here farmer mobi i*ations are strong # an! B/ African countries ha%e e2presse! their !etermination to change the TRIPS agreement, since it goes against the interests of oca communities an! their so%ereign rights o%er bio!i%ersity. '''As the Masipag members say: 3It is the rape of the century. It is the rape of the peop e5s so%ereign right to choose, the peop e5s !emocratic right to consu tation, the peop e5s inherent right to safe foo!.3 '''The 0ationa &iosafety 1ommittee of the Phi ippines +0&1P,, a mu tisectora go%ernment bo!y $hich appro%es or reFects app ications for fie ! testing of genetica y#engineere! see!s +G7S, in the country, is !ue to !eci!e on Monsanto 1orporation5s app ication to fie !#test its G7S $ithin the year. If appro%e!, the country $i take the first entry of genetica y mo!ifie! corn $hen fie !#testing is con!ucte! in &ai, "aguna an! Genera Santos 1ity. '''36i ipino farmers an! consumers shou ! ha%e a the reasons to be $ary. (e ha%e a the reasons to be $ary,3 $arns Masipag acti%ists. An! for a goo! reason. An 01&P member, $ho spoke $ith CyberDyaryo on con!ition of anonymity, re%ea s that $hi e the committee is fo o$ing the prescribe! processes in screening the app ications for fie ! testing of genetica y# a tere! p ant %arieties, the $ho e process is 3mo%ing for$ar! ine2orab y to$ar!s fie ! re ease an! commercia i*ation of mutant pro!ucts.3

'''A!!s the 01&P member: 3:n ess peop e e2press %ery strong opposition an! make sure the go%ernment kno$s their fee ings to$ar!s these issues, $e $i stan! hope ess $atching the rape of our !i%ersity.3