Intellectual Property and Facilitated Access to Genetic Resources under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

摘要

The main benefit of the Treaty is the resolution of years of political and legal acrimony concerning access and benefit sharing relating to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. As such, it has created a basis for facilitated exchange and benefit sharing that contributes to innovation and conservation. IPRs may contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA within the framework of the Treaty vis-a-vis (1) potentially creating incentives for innovations which could contribute to sustainable use of PGRFA, (2) complementing the long-standing principles of sharing materials for research and breeding through the operation of research and breeding exemptions, and (3) acting as the trigger for mandatory financial benefit-sharing when they prevent further use of materials for research and breeding.rnIn these ways, IPRs may potentially make an important contribution to PGRFA conservation and sustainable use. At the same time however, one has also to look beyond IPRs to reach these goals. In particular, the provision of the public goods that are essential to promoting breeding, training and research require monetary and non-monetary contributions both from private, public and semi-public organisations. Therefore, further progression on the implementation of the Treaty's multilateral system of access and benefit sharing will depend on a combination of measures, and in particular on the efforts of States to (1) actually put the requisite infrastructure in place in their countries and regions to participate as providers and recipients in the MLS; (2) develop incentives for organisations within contracting parties to place materials voluntarily within the MLS such as companies and non-profit institutions (universities and botanical gardens, etc.); (3) make contributions to the international benefit-sharing fund and encourage private industry to do so as well; and finally (4) promote the enlargement of the multilateral system beyond Annex I.