[Discussion] poor countries

[Paksoy, Hb]

 <<...OLE_Obj...>>  Friday, September 13, 2002  	

 <<...OLE_Obj...>> 	Report on Intellectual-Property Rights Urges Looser
Standards for Poor Countries By KATE GALBRAITH <mailto:catelgal@aol.com>
Patent and copyright rules should be much more flexible for developing
countries than for the developed world, according to a report on
intellectual property and development policy published Thursday by the
Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, which is based in Britain.  The
commission, appointed by the British government, found that the strict
intellectual-property standards adhered to by developed countries are often
at odds with poor countries' development needs.  "Today's broad application
of advanced intellectual-property-rights systems may make it harder for poor
nations" to advance in such areas as health, agriculture, and education,
John Barton, a professor of law at Stanford University and the commission's
chairman, said at a news conference.  The report, "Integrating Intellectual
Property Rights and Development Policy,"
<http://www.iprcommission.org/graphic/documents/final_report.htm > considers
the impact of the existing intellectual-property system on an array of
issues, including access to medicine and the often-uncredited use of
"traditional knowledge" (such as herbal remedies) in developed countries. On
patenting, the report calls for the "broadest possible exceptions to patent
rights, including adequate research-exemption exception" for those in
developing countries.  Pointing out the need for a two-tiered system on
patenting, Sandy Thomas, a member of the commission and director of the
Nuffield Council on Bioethics, in London, said, "It may not be ideal for
[developed country] applications to be administered in developing countries,
where there is a shortage of resources and a need to share knowledge."
Regarding copyright, the report acknowledges that international copyright
rules are poorly enforced in developing countries but argues that existing
rules often clash with developing countries' needs, particularly in
education. It calls on more publishers to lower the cost of access to books
and to journals, online and in print alike, for researchers in developing
countries, and urges developing countries to allow broad exceptions for
research in their national copyright laws. Further, it argues that
developing countries "need to be allowed greater freedom to relax
international copyright laws to meet their educational and research needs."
While the commission's report is independent and does not reflect
British-government policy, its recommendations are bound to be widely read
-- and disputed -- by developed countries, which fear that they would lose
out under a looser global intellectual-property system.