THE EVALUATION OF BIOPIRACY AND PATENTS ON BIODIVERSITY IN THE LIGHT OF TRADE RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTSAGREEMENT(TRIPS) OF WTO

Over the past two decades the role of intellectual property Rights in all areas ofscience and technology has exploded globally – primarily due to rules prescribed bythe World Trade Organizations TRIPS and by bilateral/regional trade agreements.The TRIPS agreement obligates all WTO member countries to adopt and enforceminimum standards of intellectual property. The TRIPS Agreement requiresmember countries to make patents available for inventions, whether products orprocesses, in all fields of technology without discrimination, subject to the standardpatent criteria (novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability) [1]. The TRIPsagreement is controversial in at least two areas. First, it threatens the right of poorcountries to manufacture or to import cheap generic versions of patented drugs.This is particularly devastating and immoral at a time when the AIDs epidemicand other diseases are killing millions every year because people in poor countriescannot afford the exorbitant prices the pharmaceutical giants are charging for thepatented drugs, and making record profits at the same time.