"Sharing the benefits of biotechnology with developing countries"
On April 11th 2008, an international conference will be held at Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR), to discuss the possible tensions between the practice by public organisations to patent their innovations in the Life Sciences, and ensuring access to new technologies by developing countries. Internationally renowned experts will present their views on this complex issue and present potential solutions to the dilemmas at hand.
- Friday April 11th 2008 ; 10:00-17:15 – WICC Congress centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Free registration; Please register before March 29th at www.formdesk.nl/csg/benefit_sharing
- Venue: WICC Congress Centre; Lawickse Allee 9, Wageningen. See www.wicc.nl for route description
General problem statement
New plant breeding techniques such as plant genomics, marker-assisted plant breeding and transgenic plant breeding may be of great relevance for international agricultural development. Innovations in the Life Sciences are commonly protected by both private and public sector institutes through patents or other intellectual property rights (IPRs). Patents are traditionally intended as a contract between the inventor and society to disclose the invention, and to provide the inventor with temporary exclusive rights on the commercialization of the invention. However, strict intellectual property policies may limit the access to new technologies. Some fear that these policies hamper research and development in developing countries where accessing patented technologies is difficult and expensive.
Case: Potato Research at Wageningen UR
The issue of IPR and access to knowledge by developing countries applies to all institutes and companies that are active in the field. The conference will explore these issues and discuss the specific case of Potato Research at Wageningen UR. Wageningen UR is a leading public institute in plant sciences and in international agricultural development. Both the university and its research institutes conduct a lot of research in collaboration with private sector companies. This strengthens the innovative power of the research and the product development based thereon. Intellectual property rights (IPRs), even though not restricted to public-private partnerships, play an important role in protecting the products of such collaborative projects. The invited speakers will explore why and how innovations in plant sciences are currently protected, and what problems this can raise for accessing new technologies by developing countries. They will also explore existing options and policies for ensuring this access.
Aim of the workshop
In the light of current programmes and partnerships in genomics and biotechnology we aim to:
- Discuss contemporary global trends in intellectual property protection of innovations in genomics and biotechnology.
- Explore the precise limits to the ‘freedom to operate’ by public sector research, especially in developing countries.
- Consider what avenues for increasing this ‘freedom to operate’ are used elsewhere and analyse their appropriateness for public research institutions.
Participation
Experts in the fields of genomics, biotechnology, development studies and intellectual property in the Netherlands and abroad, are invited to participate in the conference and discussions. Participation is free of costs. You can register for this conference at www.formdesk.nl/csg/benefit_sharing
Programme
Chair: Julian Kinderlerer (TU Delft)
| 9:30 - 10:00 |
Registration |
|
Defining the problem and setting the scene |
| 10:00 – 10:15 |
Prof. Julian Kinderlerer Welcome and introduction (TU Delft) |
| 10:15 – 10:45 |
Dr. Niels Louwaars Defining the problem: How has intellectual property protection in biotechnology evolved? (Centre for Genetic Resources; Wageningen International) |
| 10:45 – 11:15 |
Dr. Marc Ghislain Defining the problem: The case of international potato research for development countries (International Potato Centre, Peru) |
| 11:15 – 11:45 |
Coffee Break |
| 11:45 – 12:15 |
Lidwien Dubois LL.M. Developments in institutional IP policy: the case of plant sciences (Wageningen UR) |
| 12:15 – 12:45 |
Dr. Ard Cools Developments in institutional IP policy: The case of the Dutch Technology Foundation (Dutch Research Council ; STW-NWO) |
|
|
| 12:45 – 14:00 |
Lunch |
|
Current practice and pathways to possible solutions |
| 14:00 – 14:30 |
Prof. Willem Stiekema Current practice: The case of CBSG (Centre for Biosystems Genomics) |
| 14:30 – 15:00 |
Prof. Steve Hughes Possible solutions: Open-source biotechnology (CAMBIA; Egenis centre for Genomics in Society) |
| 15:00 – 15:30 |
Tea Break |
| 15:30 – 16:00 |
Dr. Kyle Jensen Possible solutions: Public sector Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA) |
|
Reflection on the problems and proposed solutions: Panel discussion |
| 16:00 – 17:00 |
Chair: Prof. Michiel Korthals
Panel members: Prof. Martin Kropff (Rector, WUR), Dr. Sjefke Allefs (Agrico Research), Geoff Tansey (Consultant), Victoria Henson-Apollonio (CGIAR CAS-IP). |
| 17:00 |
Closure by Julian Kinderlerer and drinks |
Organized on behalf of the Centre for Society and Genomics by:
- Bram De Jonge (Centre for Society and Genomics ; Wageningen UR - Applied Philosophy)
- Wietse Vroom (Vrije University Amsterdam ; Wageningen UR - Critical Technology Construction)
- Niels Louwaars (Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands – Wageningen International)
- Frans van Dam (Centre for Society and Genomics)
For further information, please contact Wietse Vroom at wietse.vroom@wur.nl.
The Conference takes place against the background of the United Nations International Year of the Potato. See www.potato2008.org for more.