GI TALKS GOING IN CIRCLES; EU MAKES GI EXTENSION HONG KONG PRIORITY

The Special Session of the WTO Council on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) met on 27 October to discuss the creation of a multilateral register for the notification and registration of geographical indications (GIs) for wines and spirits.

A separate set of informal consultations had been held the day before, during which Members discussed whether the protection of GIs currently available to wines and spirits such as Champagne should be extended to other products. The EU, Switzerland and a number of developing countries have been pushing for 'GI extension,' in opposition to the US, Australia and other 'New World' countries that are net agricultural exporters as well as frequent users of 'Old World' GIs for their own food products. No consensus was reached during the meeting.

The Special Session on the wine and spirits register saw no real headway on the issue, although Members did discuss the WTO Secretariat's side-by-side presentation of their proposals (TN/IP/W/12) at length. Countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada, and the US have argued for a voluntary GI register that would essentially function like a searchable database, with enforcement grounded in national law. The EU wants registered terms to be protected in all WTO Member states, including those not participating in the register.

The EU's 28 October offer to cut farm tariffs in the Doha Round negotiations was explicitly conditional on the extension of binding GI protection to all products. The EU wants to establish a multilateral register for these GIs, and to get other countries to stop allowing the use of a 'limited number' of well-known European GIs (see related article, this issue).

ICTSD reporting.

STILL NO CLARITY ON COTTON OUTCOME

The developments currently unfolding in the ongoing farm trade talks could significantly affect trade in cotton, said Chair Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand at a 28 October meeting of the WTO Sub-Committee on Cotton. He said that cuts in developed country subsidies could benefit all non-subsidising producers, as would tariff cuts if Members succeed at narrowing their differences enough to agree on them. However, Falconer reminded Members that the 2004 July Package (WT/L/579) required more specific detail on cotton than whatever was achieved in the overall agriculture negotiations.

During previous sessions of the group, the EU called for the elimination of cotton export subsidies and for duty and quota free market access for cotton and cotton products from developing and least-developed countries. At the 28 October meeting, it reiterated that any agreement on cotton should be implemented immediately, ahead of other Doha Round commitments. The African proponents of the cotton initiative urged the EU to table its suggestions formally.

Sources report that West African cotton producing countries welcomed the new cotton-related projects and contributions announced by bilateral and multilateral donors during parallel consultations on the developmental aspects of the cotton negotiations that were held alongside the formal meetings of the sub-committee. Uganda and Zimbabwe complained that these efforts were ignoring the fact that other African countries produce cotton as well.

Outside the sub-committee, trade ministers from Mali and Chad and two West African cotton producer representatives recently came to Geneva to plead their case. Referring to cotton as their single interest in the ongoing talks, they called for special attention on domestic and export subsidies in time for the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December. They told the press on 19 October that they would consider blocking consensus in Hong Kong if they were unsatisfied with the outcome on cotton.

ICTSD reporting; "African cotton countries demand concrete results at Hong Kong," THIRD WORLD NETWORK, 19 Oct 2005.

DISCLOSURE, TRIPS-CBD RELATIONSHIP UNDETERMINED FOR HONG KONG

At the WTO Council on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 26 and 28 October, Members once again clashed on whether patent-seekers should be required to disclose the source and country of origin of any genetic resources and traditional knowledge used in the development of an invention. Consensus continues to elude Members on the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore.

India, Brazil, Bolivia, Cuba and Pakistan (IP/C/W/459) argued that the US' favoured contract-based approach (IP/C/W/449) is not sufficient to prevent the theft of genetic resources and associated knowledge. India and Brazil emphasised that many delegations believe that disclosure requirements would constitute an efficient, workable solution to biopiracy. They acknowledged that the US contract-based suggestion could be one part of this solution. Peru introduced a paper (IP/C/W/458) analysing the potential benefit that a disclosure requirement could have made in the case of the Camu Camu plant, a Peruvian fruit that was patented in Japan. Australia, the EU, Canada and New Zealand said that further discussions on disclosure requirements were necessary, though they did not support India's paper as it was.

During informal consultations on disclosure held by the Deputy Director-General Rufus Yerxa on 26 October, India proposed a paragraph for the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration stipulating that "negotiations shall be undertaken on the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD," which shall cover issues including "the details of the mandatory requirements on patent applicants to disclose..." as well as prior informed consent and benefit sharing. Many developing countries strongly supported the draft paragraph, but consensus was impossible because of objections from the US and Japan.
Yerxa said that he would report on progress to the Trade Negotiations Committee, and that he may hold another round of informal consultations before Hong Kong.

For further coverage, see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 28 October 2005.

ICTSD reporting.