IPRs as a means to Conserve Biodiversity

INTRODUCTION

Intellectual Property Rights are a growing trend these days. They constitute an important field of law and are of many types,such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade designs, plant varieties, geographical indications, etc. Intellectual property rights are intangible rights which safeguard an idea, design, creation, innovation or blueprint. They are usually granted for uniqueness of schemes or thinking processes or a major upgradation of an already existing invention. Thus, the producer or innovator can ensure that his discovery cannot be imitated and his efforts do not go in vain. IPRs have been popularized in the past decade owing to the increased awareness in the people.In the past, lack of awareness resultedin inventions being copied and used without proper authorization. Not only did this dilute the creativity of the official innovators, but also demotivated them since they invested their time, energy and efforts to invent new products. After intellectual property rights were laid out, multiple laws were enforced so as to counter such infringement. Some of the most popularly known intellectual property legislations are The Copyright Act of 1957, The Trademark Act of 1999, The Patent Act of 1970 and The Designs Act of 2000. Owing to these laws no one can make use of an innovation, original work, design or mark without a prior permit.

IPRs not only aim to protect the interests of creators, but are also enforced for the protection of biodiversity on the planet. Biodiversity refersto all kinds of living organisms found in an area which maintain balance and support life. In legal terms biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources and the ecological complexes of which they are part and includes diversity within species or between species and of ecosystems. In other words, it is the variety and variability of life on Earth. In India biodiversity and their legal protection is governed by inter alia The Biodiversity Act of 2002. The Act has provisions to ensure that law considers the preservation of life on Earth.

CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was held in Rio de Janeiro on 1992 and came into force in 1993. Initially, there was a prevalent fear among the people that IPRs would restrict access to genetic resources and limit the sharing of their benefits in the forms of patents or copyrights. However, the Convention made sure that international measures were taken for the sustainability of biodiversity while at the same time equal consideration was given to the importance of IPRs. It also aims to conserve the indigenous knowledge relating to innovations and practices for sustainable use.

HOW ARE IPRS RELATED TO BIODIVERSITY

In recent times, IPRs have expanded to the field of biodiversity. They focus on genetically enhanced microorganisms, plant varieties, seed production and monoculture. Many fields like the industrial sector, agricultural sector, manufacturing sector and pharmaceutical sector have laws in place to make sure that they support sustainability of biodiversity as well. At the same time, they need intellectual property laws for their smooth functioning.

LEGISLATIONS RELATING TO IPR AND BIODIVERSITY

India passed The Biological Diversity Act in 2002 and The Indian Patent Second Amendment Act in 2000 to comply with the regulations of CBD, making microorganisms patentable in India. Nowadays, India has also started to certify plant breeders who specialize in breeding new varieties of plants.

In the current scenario, intellectual property rights have made patentability of gene-altered organisms and plant varieties possible.Countries can obtain these patents to protect the plant or its modifications and obtain a patent for the modified plant. The Union Internationale pour la Protection des Obtentions Vegetables (UPOV) is a convention that promotes the breeding of new plant varieties through intellectual property protection of biodiversity.

Plant Breeding Rights: Plant Variety Rights is a form of IPR governed by the Plant Variety Protection And Farmers Rights (PPVFR) Act of 2001. These rights provide legal protection of a registered variety/breed of plants to the breeder. The act was enforced in India to accelerate agricultural development and promote the development of new varieties of plants. Under the Act four categories of plants can be protected:

  • New varieties
  • Extant variety
  • Farmers' variety
  • Essentially derived variety

Biological Diversity Act:The Biological Diversity Act was passed to balance the growth of intellectual property rights as well as conservation of biodiversity and rehabilitation of species in India. It penalizes the serious violators with a fine upto 10 lakh rupees or imprisonment upto 5 years. Biodiversity authorities on the national and state level are set up to lay down the rules and regulations regarding them.

GI Tags: Geographical Indication (GI) tags are a means to label certain products designating them to be from specific regions which cannot be found elsewhere. Such products have unique features and are governed by The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999. The act seeks to provide for registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India. GIs guarantee that a product meets certain standards and is of high quality. Some examples of GI labelled products are Nagpur oranges, Darjeeling tea, etc.

ABS Mechanisms: Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Mechanisms make sure that no individual, institution or country can withhold information relating to genetic resources. This knowledge should be accessible to everyone in the interests of preserving biodiversity. IPRs provide a framework for the proper sharing of genetic information through ABS. The provisions of ABS were suggested by the Convention of Biological Diversity and were put in force by the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The National Biodiversity Authority oversees the ABS related activities.

Copyright Act: The Copyright Act was enforced in 1957; it also protects literary works which may include folklore and traditional knowledge. The protection of traditional knowledge not only promotes the preservation of cultural heritage associated with biodiversity but also supports the rights and interests of indigenous and local communities.

TRIPS Agreement:The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement was enforced in 1995 in all member nations of the World Trade Organisation. It recognises the need of balancing IPRs with other domestic policy objectives. One of these objectives is the preservation of the biodiversity which surrounds us. It deals with technology transfer, climate change, public health and interests, biotechnology and innovation policy. They maintain fairness in trading on an international level.

CONCLUSION

The growth of genetic diversity development is unpredictable and long lasting. The term has a very wide interpretation, from plant breeding varieties to genetically enhanced resources. These advancements ultimately lead to improving the quality of human life. For these advancements to be made, intellectual property rights must be granted to inventors for their contributions. However, the promotion of innovation must not compromise the already existing life around us. Biodiversity needs to be preserved for sustaining life on Earth as we know it. A controlled and efficient equilibrium has to be maintained in order to reach a point which is beneficial to all otherwise the consequences could be dire. As we are already aware climate change, depletion of natural resources, endangerment of various species etc are serious issues which can be solved through the introduction of new technology and biogenetic resources. Laws have been placed at national and international levels for this purpose but there is still lack of knowledge at the local level and in rural regions. India has implemented multiple IPR laws to mitigate this problem but there is still a long way to go for intellectual property rights and conservation of biodiversity to go hand in hand.

REFERENCES

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/biodiversity-and-intellectual-property-rights

https://www.lawyered.in/legal-disrupt/articles/role-indian-ipr-laws-safeguarding-biodiversity/

https://corpbiz.io/learning/the-role-of-ipr-in-the-protection-of-biodiversity/

https://www.theipmatters.com/post/impact-of-ipr-on-biodiversity

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