Intellectual property (IP) issues and international treaties related to genetic resources

This paper examines a number of recent cases in which the biological resources of developing countries has been appropriated without authorisation, often relying upon the traditional agricultural knowledge of the source community and converted into intellectual property rights (biopiracy). The impact of these cases upon the evolution of an international legal regime is examined. This regime as expressed in the International Treaty for the Protection of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These instruments provide for the regulation of access to these resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their utilisation (ABS).