Patent regimes should 'take account of poor'

URL: http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v408/n6814/full/408762a0_fs.html

Date accessed: 06 February 2001

Nature 408, 762 (2000) © Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

14 December 2000

[ LONDON] The British government has proposed an international commission on intellectual property rights to consider how they can be designed "to take greater account of the interests of developing countries and poor people". Topics to be addressed by the commission would include access to genetic resources and "traditional knowledge".

In a white paper (policy document) published this week, the UK Department for International Development says that it is open to "constructive suggestions" on improving the World Trade Organization's agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Categories: 3. Theory of Patents, 10. Ethical and Social Concerns Arising out of Patents