Global regime for bio piracy needed urgently, says commerce secretary of India

There is an urgent need for an effective global legal regime to prevent bio piracy, according to Rita Teaotia, commerce secretary of India.

Speaking at an event organised by the Centre for WTO Studies at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Teaotia explained that a global regime was needed to stop misappropriation of traditional knowledge, according to  The Economic Times.

She stressed that the World Trade Organization (WTO) needs the regime to counter the practice of commercially exploiting natural products by obtaining patents while failing to fairly compensate the communities from which these originate.

Teaotia reportedly  said that discussions on the links between IP rights and the Convention on Biodiversity, a multilateral treaty, need to be revived at the WTO.

An effective international regime will create certainty of access for users, including multinational companies and developed countries, while also preventing the patenting of existing knowledge, according to Teaotia.

Some developing countries have reportedly attempted to incorporate a provision in the TRIPS agreement which would make it obligatory for patent applicants to disclose the origin of their biological resources as well as evidence of consent and benefit-sharing with the traditional knowledge owner.