Paragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration instructs the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), in its review of Article 27.3 (b) and Article 71.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, to consider the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Work in the TRIPS Council has particularly focused on whether and how disclosure requirements would contribute to a more coherent and supportive relationship. One of the key provisions of the CBD is the requirement that access to genetic resources be subject to prior informed consent (PIC). As a result, ensuring the intellectual property system adequately considers and implements PIC is one of the fundamental elements being addressed in the context of Paragraph 19 negotiations.
The objective of the brief is to contribute to these and other ongoing negotiations by succinctly analyzing the PIC principle and the challenges faced by its implementation. Section II will address the evolution of the concept of PIC. Section III will then identify the scope and characteristics of PIC in the context of genetic resources –both in terms of rights of States and rights of indigenous peoples and other local communities. Section IV will briefly examine the relationship between intellectual property and the recognition and implementation of PIC. Finally, Section V will offer some concluding thoughts on ways the implementation of PIC could be supported in the World Trade Organization (WTO) context on the road to Hong Kong.