bioplan
"David Duthie" <David.Duthie@unep.org>
Dear BIOPLANNERS,  the following Recommendations with regard to TRIPs and
Traditional Medicine has been posted on the GRAIN-IPR listserver.

Best wishes

David Duthie
E-mail:  david.duthie@unep.org

****************************************************************************************

TITLE: ASEAN Workshop on the TRIPS Agreement and Traditional Medicine
(Jakarta, 15 February 2001): Recommendations Regarding Intellectual
Property
Rights in Relation to Traditional Medicine
AUTHOR: The workshop participants
DATE: Finalised and released on 28 June 2001
URL: GRAIN has posted the document on its website at
http://www.grain.org/themes/dsp_theme.cfm?theme_id=101
NOTE: For further information, please contact Mr. Yong Chanthalangsy at the
the ASEAN Secretariat mailto:yong@asean.or.id
________________________________________________________

ASEAN Workshop on the TRIPS Agreement and Traditional Medicine

Jakarta, 15 February 2001

RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
IN RELATION TO TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

In order to achieve the principal objective of safeguarding people's access
to traditional medicines to cover their health needs, as well as the
additional objectives of:

-- Ensuring equitable benefit sharing in case of commercial use of
Traditional Medicinal Knowledge (TMK) and Traditional Medicine (TM) without
authorization from the holders of such TMK/TM,
-- Creating incentives for continued development of Traditional Medicinal
Knowledge and Traditional Medicine,
-- Supporting the development of the (traditional medicine) industry,
-- Supporting measures to protect the environment and avoid
over-exploitation,

ASEAN Member Countries reiterate the recommendations from the ASEAN
Workshop
on the TRIPS Agreement and its Impact on Pharmaceuticals (Jakarta, 2-4 May
2000), and acknowledge the importance of implementing the following basic
strategies:

1. To develop a National Traditional Medicine Policy, in order to, among
others:

-- Address the formal recognition of Traditional Medicine,
-- Strengthen the organization and infrastructure of Traditional Medicine
(including quality and safety aspects),
-- Explore the integration of Traditional Medicine in the National Health
Care System (e.g. inclusion in curriculum),
-- Increase funds for R&D on Traditional Medicines.

2. To develop national legislation in order to implement TRIPS and CBD, and
notably to:

-- Develop, in their national legislation, creative approaches, including
sui generis systems and the IPR regulations or the appropriate use of the
existing IPR mechanism,
-- Explore the possibility of requiring submission of: (i) a certificate of
origin and (ii) a certiified statement that any knowledge and/or materials
have been obtained with the prior informed consent of their holders, for
any
application of a patent based on or making use of TMK, TM, biological
material and/or genetic resources,
-- Accelerate the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD) and/or its guiding principles, notably those relating to: (i)
soverignity over genetic resources and (ii) the protection of the
knowledge,
innovation, practice and customs of local and indginous communities in the
area of traditional medicine,
-- Develop national and regional mechanisms for the prevention of
biopiracy.

3. To take a position and play an active role during the review of the
TRIPs
Agreement in the WTO TRIPs Council, noting that:

-- Any revision of TRIPS article 27.3.b should exclude the patentability of
plants and animals,
-- Specific, concrete steps should be taken, in order to develop a detailed
ASEAN position on TRIPS, for example by conducting preparatory meetings
prior to the actual WTO TRIPS review (involving technical experts on
health,
traditional medicine and IPR),

Moreover, the workshop identified the need to:

-- Conduct of a comprehensive study on the real and potential impact of the
TRIPS Agreement on the use and protection of TMK/TM, taking into account
studies that have already been conducted,
-- Conduct a study of all TRIPS provisions (including those pertaining to
geographical indications, trademarks, etc) and their potential application
in the area of TKM/TM,

4. Establishing an information network

-- by appointing a national coordinator for the exchange of information on
Traditional Medicines among ASEAN countries,
-- by creating a national and regional networks for information exchange,
-- in order to, among others, document knowledge of traditional medicine
which is already in the public domain, in various written forms, and
distribute it widely to interested stakeholders, including healers and IPR
offices. Modern technology could be used, for example by developing a
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.

5. Reinforcing technical cooperation among member countries, among others
by:

-- Strengthening the existing activities on herbal medicines within the
ASEAN TCDC in Pharmaceuticals,
-- Enlarging the scope of ASEAN TCDC, in order to include the priorities
identified in this Workshop with regard to the protection of Traditional
Medicine, such as the implementation of systems for the protection of
TMK/TM
and the development of Traditional Medicine data bases(*),
-- Exploring the possibility for harmonization of minimum regulatory
standards and requirements for traditional medicines on the aspects of
acceptable quality, safety and efficacy.

(*) If these database are public, they should only contain knowledge which
is already in the public domain

6. Trying, at the international level, to spearhead efforts for promotion
and protection of traditional medicines and traditional medicinal
knowledge,
and notably to:

-- Develop and introduce a Resolution to this end in the World Health
Assembly, which should address IPR issue as well as quality, efficacy and
proper use of traditional medicines; the part of the Resolution addressing
the protection of TMK/TM should be developed in collaboration with WIPO and
representatives from relevant CBD Working Groups,
-- Adopt protocol/amendment to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
devising specific solutions for legal protection for TMK/TM and the
participation of the communities concerned in making decisions regarding
the
development and use of their resources and knowledge,
-- Introduce international, legally binding instruments, which will protect
TKM/TM,
-- Identify, at international, ASEAN as well as national level, criteria
for
the protection of TMK/TM.
 

Jakarta, 28 June 2001
Circulated by Dra. Mawarwati Djamaludin
Permanent Secretary
 

BIOPLAN is an electronic list server established by the UNDP-UNEP implemented
 Biodiversity Planning Support Programmme and maintained by UNDP-GEF to serve the
 global community involved in planning for national implementation of the Convention on
 Biological Diversity. To unsubscribe (remove yourself) from this list send a message to:
 majordomo@undp.org with the subject line BLANK and the following text in the body of
 the message: UNSUBSCRIBE  BIOPLAN followed by your e-mail address,
or go to 
 

BACK TO LISTINGS  HOME