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Sui Generis Protection For Plant Varieties And Traditional Knowledge In Biodiversity And Agriculture: The International Framework And National Approaches In The Philippines And India, Christoph Antons

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

The so-called 'biotechnology clause' of Article 27.3(b) of the WTO-TRIPS Agreement requires from member states protection for plant mrieties either tlia the patent system or via an 'effective sui generis system' or by a combination of the two. Many developing countries prefer forms of sui generis protection, which allow them to include exceptions and protection measures for traditional agricultural practices and the traditional knowledge of farmers and local communities. However, 'traditional knowledge' remains a mguely defined term. Its extension to biodit1ersity has trrought a diffusion of the pret1iously clearer link between protected subject matter, intellectual property and potential beneficiaries. The …