Context

Recently, India together with Bangladesh, Colombia & Egypt have given a joint call at the WTO for review of the TRIPS Agreement.

Reviewing TRIPS Agreement: Development and Public Health Priorities

Notion of Joint Call for the Review under Article 71 of TRIPS Agreement : After the failure of consensus on to extend the temporary waiver of certain intellectual property rights (TRIPS) for Covid-19 therapeutics and diagnostics production at the recently held 13th Ministerial Conference of WTO( in Abu Dhabi).

• Joint Call for the review is Focused On :  To examine for the facilitation of Technology transfer, Development dimension, and other concerns of developing & Least developing countries.
• Demand for the Conformity of TRIPS Agreement with CBD : Fast track examination of the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• Demands to Examine the Doha Declaration on TRIPS agreement & Public Health of 2001 & TRIPS Agreement of 2022 
• Recommendation for upcoming 14th WTO Ministerial Conference : Urged The TRIPS council that all these recommendations could be made at the upcoming 14th WTO Ministerial Conference ( tentatively scheduled in Cameroon).

Challenges with TRIPS Waiver, Conflicts with CBD, and Biopiracy Concerns

Intricate IP Rights & Manufacturing Process: 

• Vaccine development and manufacturing involve complex intellectual property mechanisms, with various protections across different stages. 
• This includes trade secrets and copyrights that safeguard crucial knowledge and Data, Design, Material sourcing, building facilities, and obtaining regulatory approvals etc

Therefore, implementing a patent waiver alone doesn’t immediately enable manufacturers to initiate vaccine production.

Conflicts Over CBD & TRIPS Agreement:

• CBD vs TRIPS Agreement: 

  • CBD recognises countries’ sovereign rights over their biological resources, While TRIPS Agreement allows members to provide patents over biological resources (plants, animals and microorganisms)

• TRIPS Limitations wrt to CBD: 

  • Benefit Sharing Discrepancy: 

• • • TRIPS mandates patents for all technological fields, including the exploitation of biological resources. However, it lacks mechanisms for benefit sharing between patent holders and material donors. 
    • In contrast, CBD provides a legal basis for developing countries to demand a share of benefits. Biopiracy Concerns: 
    • TRIPS lacks provisions for prior informed consent for accessing biological resources, leading to potential biopiracy. 
    • CBD addresses this by granting states legal authority to require prior informed consent, aiming to mitigate biopiracy risks. 
  • Public Interest vs. Private Rights: TRIPS prioritizes the private interests of IP rights holders over public health and nutrition, contrary to CBD’s emphasis on the public interest and common good. This contrast reflects a direct contradiction between the two frameworks.

Way Forward: Prioritizing CBD, Reviewing TRIPS, and Recognizing Indigenous Rights

• Acknowledge Primacy of CBD: Recognize that CBD has primacy over the WTO, specifically in biodiversity and traditional knowledge systems. 
• Review of TRIPS Agreement: Ensure that the review of the TRIPS Agreement allows sovereign states to exclude all life forms and related knowledge from IPR systems. 
• Recognition & Prioritization of Collective & Indigenous Rights: Urgently recognize a collective rights of indigenous people and local communities over their biodiversity and related knowledge.

News Source : TheHinduBusinessline