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AMID the
side issue of patent wars on medicine in the pending
cheap-drugs bill in Congress, the head of the country’s
intellectual property office has sounded the alarm on
the tremendous loss of biological diversity to illegal
bioprospectors making lots of money from patenting them.
“A
number of Philippine biodiversity and genetic resources
have been lost to foreign patenting without the
corresponding benefit sharing for the country,” Atty.
Adrian Cristobal Jr., director general of the
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP
Philippines), announced Wednesday.
Cristobal said the country is losing billions of dollars
in potential income from illegal bioprospecting and
biopiracy of biological diversity (biodiversity) and
genetic resources.
At the
same time, he appealed to Filipino scientists and
inventors to apply for patents for their inventions in
the country so they could gain economic benefits from
them and help promote technological innovation and
development in the country.
Cristobal cited a 2002 report of the United Nations
Environment Programme (Unep) that said that the
Philippines
ranked No. 1 in the world’s top 10 coral reef hotspots.
The report added that the annual estimated economic
value of the country’s coral reef system alone is $1.1
billion.
“In the
Philippine Intellectual Property Policy Strategy, which
IP Philippines spearheaded, it indicates that the
country is one of 17 megadiverse countries. We have over
52,000 species of flora and fauna found within our
national borders and there are more species that are
waiting to be discovered. The various species in the
country are among the most threatened in the
world,” Cristobal revealed in a press statement.
Biodiversity, as defined by the Global Biodiversity
Strategy, covers the genes, species and ecosystems in a
region. Genetic diversity refers to the variation of
genes within species, while species diversity includes
the variety of species within a region. Biodiversity and
genetic resources have been identified as one of eight
sectors in the policy strategy led by the agency.
A
patent, on the other hand, is an exclusive right granted
by the State through IP Philippines to a patent owner
for a product or process for a specified period. In
return, the patent owner discloses the invention details
in his application. An invention has a term of
protection of 20 years from the filing date of
application.
The
Philippines has more than 13,000 plant species that
comprise 5 percent of the world’s total flora. It is
estimated that around 78 percent of the country’s
amphibians, 68 percent of its reptiles, 64 percent of
the mammals and 44 percent of birds are considered
unique to the Philippines.
“These
resources can provide many economic opportunities for
the country, such as sources of raw ingredients for
medicine and industrial products, genetic materials for
the development of crops and animals, and for
ecotourism. Equally important is that local and
indigenous communities, who are custodian of these
resources, will get the benefits due them,” Cristobal
said.
President Arroyo recently conferred the National
Scientist honor on Dr. Lourdes Cruz, a renowned marine
scientist and awarded the Legion of Honor with the rank
of Grand Officer to Dr. Baldomero Olivera. Among their
body of work, the two scientists were recognized for
their discovery of conotoxins from cone shells collected
in the waters of the Philippines. Conotoxins are
ingredients in powerful painkillers.
A search
of the patent database of IP Philippines yielded
negative results for conotoxins; it was not applied for
patent in the country. Cruz, along with other inventors,
however, have two patent applications with the office: a
process for the preparation of mitoxantrone with the
Philippine Institute for Pure and Applied Chemistry
College Lane and Center for Biomolecular Science
Foundation as the applicant or assignee and; the cyclic
hexapeptides, process and use thereof with the Marine
Science Institute of the University of the Philippines,
and the University of Utah as applicant or assignee.
“IP
Philippines is appealing to our local scientists and
inventors to apply for patent for their inventions in
the country. Apart from economic benefits of patent
registration where they are granted the right to
prohibit any unauthorized entity from using, making, or
selling the invention, and assigning or transferring the
patent, or concluding licensing contracts from it, the
creators help promote technological innovation and
development in the country,” Cristobal said.
In
recognizing biodiversity and genetic resources as
intellectual property assets, the state policy is to
extend these immediate protection.
At least
seven strategic actions are listed on the Philippine
Intellectual Property Policy Strategy that Cristobal’s
office would undertake for the sector:
§
Establish a dedicated support unit for intellectual
property rights (IPR) concerns in the area of
biodiversity and genetic resources
§
Establish a digital database or registry of the
country’s biodiversity and genetic resources
§
Review
and amend the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act to clarify
and enhance IPR of indigenous people over their
knowledge and the various uses of genetic resources
§
Formulate policies and rules to govern enforcement
agencies to combat biopiracy and bioprospecting,
including the creation of a central enforcement body
§
Formulate and implement capacity-building programs for
government agencies responsible for enforcing IPR over
biodiversity and genetic resources
§
Review
policies and enhance implementation of the Plant
Varieties Act
§
Formulate policies on the exploitation and
commercialization of the use of biodiversity and genetic
resources
The
seven other IP sectors representing the country’s assets
and approaches include public health; patent reform;
universities, and research and development institutions;
indigenous knowledge, systems and practices, folklore
and geographical indications; small and medium
enterprises; copyright and creative industries; and
institutional capacity-building and IP enforcement. |
