The Right to Food and the TRIPS Agreement (The Raoul Wallenberg Institute Human Rights Library)

This volume analyses relationships between patent rights and human rights, focusing on the right to food. Whether the TRIPS Agreement and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights actually conflict, is analyzed through different techniques of assessing treaty conflict. Table of Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 12 Part I: Treaties Relating to Food and Protection of Biotechnology......Page 14 1.1 General outline......Page 16 1.2 Structure of the Study......Page 22 1.3 Delimitations......Page 23 2.1 Food......Page 26 2.1.1 Food in a Human Rights Context......Page 28 2.1.2 Increased Emphasis on Access to Food......Page 31 2.2.1 Three Phases of biotechnology......Page 32 2.2.2 Different Actors in biotechnology and their Attitude towards Intellectual Property Protection......Page 34 2.2.3 Traditional breeders and Modern breeders......Page 37 2.2.4 Strong Disagreements Regarding new biotechnology......Page 39 2.3 The Expansion of the Intellectual Property Protection System......Page 40 2.3.1 A General outline of Patent and Plant Variety Protection......Page 41 2.3.2 Intellectual Property Protection in Various Phases......Page 45 2.3.3 Metaperspectives on Patent and Plant Variety Rights......Page 48 2.3.4 Justifications for Intellectual Property Protection......Page 52 2.3.5 Alternatives to Patent and Plant Variety Protection on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Protection through biological or Technical Means......Page 58 3.3.1 International Law in Interpretative Material......Page 64 3.3.1 Interpretation and Application of Treaties......Page 65 3.3.2 Interpreting the Terms in Light of a Treaty's object and Purpose......Page 70 3.3.3 Principles for Identifying balance between Treaties......Page 73 3.2.1 In General Concerning the Un Human Rights Instruments......Page 76 3.2.2 The Relevant Interpretative Material from the Un Human Rights Instruments......Page 77 3.3.1 In General Concerning the WTo......Page 86 3.3.2 The Relevant WTo Interpretative Material......Page 87 3.4.1 In General Concerning UPoV......Page 97 3.4.2 The Relevant UPoV Interpretative Material......Page 98 Part II: Relevant Provisions from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights......Page 100 4.1.1 Article 2.1......Page 102 4.1.2 Articles 2.2 and 3......Page 113 4.2 Basic Approaches for Understanding the Rights and obligations of the Covenant......Page 115 4.2.1 Rights and Corresponding obligations......Page 116 4.2.2 Arguments Concerning the nature of the Rights in the Covenant......Page 117 4.2.3 Interpretation and Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: 'Progressive Realization' and 'Violations'......Page 121 5 The Right to Food as Recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights......Page 128 5.1.1 Emerging Recognition of the Right to Food......Page 129 5.1.2 Introduction to the Analysis of Article 11......Page 131 5.1.3 Article 11.1......Page 132 5.1.4 Article 11.2......Page 138 5.1.5 Article 11.2(a)......Page 143 5.2.1 The Relationship between Improved Methods of Food Production and Improved Methods of Food Distribution......Page 155 5.2.2 The Relationship between Technology and the Environment......Page 159 5.2.3 The Relationship between the Provisions of the Covenant and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as other Instruments......Page 164 5.3 'International Cooperation'......Page 168 5.3.1 International Cooperation in the Covenant......Page 169 5.3.2 The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research......Page 171 5.3.3 The Relationship between FAo and CGIAR......Page 175 6 The Right to Benefit from the Moral and Material Interests of Scientific Production and the Right to Enjoy Benefits from Scientific Progress and Its Applications......Page 182 6.1 Article 15.1(c)......Page 185 6.1.1 Authors' Rights as Human Rights?......Page 186 6.1.2 The Content of Article 15.1(c): Under Which Conditions Are Authors' Rights Human Rights?......Page 190 6.1.3 Understaning Article 15.1(c) based on the Three Levels of State obligations......Page 197 6.1.4 Application of Article 15.1(c)......Page 203 6.2 The Right to benefit from Scientific Progress and its Applications......Page 205 6.2.1 The Content of Article 15.1(b)......Page 206 6.2.2 Understanding Article 15.1(b) based on the Three Levels of State obligations......Page 207 6.2.3 Private Research and State obligations......Page 211 6.3 Balancing Approaches between Paragraphs 15.1(b) and 15.1(c)......Page 214 7.1 Article 4......Page 218 7.2 Article 5......Page 221 Part III: TRIPS and TRIPS-Compatible Protection ......Page 226 8.1.1 Introduction......Page 228 8.1.2 The Particularities of TRIPS......Page 229 8.1.3 Principles and Procedures Regarding Developing Countries in the Dispute Settlement System......Page 231 8.1.4 Application of the Dispute Settlement System and national Application of TRIPS Provisions......Page 232 8.1.5 A brief Drafting History of TRIPS......Page 234 8.2.1 Introduction......Page 236 8.2.2 Patent Eligibility......Page 237 8.2.3 Exclusions from Patentability......Page 245 8.2.4 Exclusive Rights......Page 252 8.2.5 Exceptions and Limitations......Page 254 8.3 Enforcement......Page 264 9 Effective Sui Generis Systems for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants......Page 268 9.1.1 Eligibility Criteria......Page 269 9.1.2 Exclusions from Plant Variety Protection......Page 272 9.1.3 Exclusive Rights......Page 273 9.1.4 Exceptions and Limitations......Page 274 9.2.1 Introduction......Page 278 9.2.2 Considerations for Developing States......Page 279 9.2.3 What is 'Effective Sui Generis' Understood to Imply?......Page 281 9.2.4 Eligibility Criteria......Page 283 9.2.5 Exclusions from Plant Variety Protection......Page 288 9.2.6 Exclusive Rights......Page 291 9.2.7 Exceptions and Limitations......Page 294 9.2.8 Summary: Requirements of an 'Effective Sui Generis' System......Page 298 Part IV: Comparison between Measures to Realize the Right to Food and Measures to Strengthen Patent and Plant Variety Protection......Page 300 10 Jurisdictional and Jurisprudential Issues under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the TRIPS Agreement......Page 302 10.1.1 The Jusrisdiction of the Committee......Page 304 10.1.2 The Practice of the Committee......Page 308 10.1.3 ther Human Rights bodies......Page 312 10.2 The Jurisdiction and Jurisprudence of the Dispute Settlement System, and the Practice of the WTo's Political bodies......Page 316 10.2.1 The Dispute Settlement System of the WTo: Clarifying the Provisions of the Covered Agreements by Taking into Account Relevant Rules of International Law......Page 317 10.2.2 Which Rules of International Law Can be Taken into Account in the Dispute Settlement System – and How?......Page 318 10.2.3 Jurisprudence of the WTo Dispute Settlement System, Including Analysis of the Extent to Which This Jurisprudence is Relevant for TRIPS and Human Rights Disputes......Page 325 10.2.4 The Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health......Page 335 10.2.5 Potential Taking into Account the Right to Food in the WTO – Particularly in the Council on TRIPS, the Trade Policy Review body and the Committee on Agriculture......Page 339 10.3 Could the International Court of Justice Solve a Dispute Relating to Patent Protection and the Right to Food?......Page 343 11 Principles for Identifying and Solving Conflicts between Treaties, as well as Identifying the Nature of Treaties, Applied to TRIPS and the Covenant ......Page 348 11.1.1 The Terms......Page 349 11.1.2 Principles for Determining Conflict between Treaties......Page 351 11.1.3 Conflict between Treaties on the Level of Taking Measures......Page 353 11.2.1 Introduction......Page 356 11.2.2 Same Subject Matter?......Page 357 11.2.3 Solving Conflict between Treaties if Harmonious Interpretation Is not Possible......Page 358 11.3.1 Introduction......Page 364 11.3.2 Obligations Erga Omnes......Page 365 11.3.3 The Concept of Multilateral obligations......Page 373 11.3.4 The Weight of Human Rights obligations in International Economic Law Interpretation......Page 383 12 Conflict or Compatibility between Human Rights and Patent and Plant Variety Protection?......Page 384 12.1 Approaches for Examining the Relationship between the Right to Food and Patent and Plant Variety Protection......Page 385 12.2 The Treaty Provisions and the Measures to be Taken under the Treaties......Page 386 12.2.1 Prohibitions – The Treaty obligations Cannot be Complied with Simultaneously......Page 387 12.2.2 TRIPS-Prescribed Measures and the Compliance with the Covenant......Page 390 12.2.3 Adopting Measures as Prescribed by the Covenant and the Compliance with TRIPS......Page 406 12.2.4 No Direct Conflict, but Several Concerns Relating to the Implementation of the Two Treaties, Seen in Light of the Different object and Purpose of the Treaties......Page 415 12.3 Human Rights Considerations when Adopting Strengthened Protection of Patents and Plant Varieties......Page 420 12.3.1 Obligations Relating to Available Resources and Distribution......Page 422 12.3.2 Obligations Relating to Undertaking Research......Page 430 12.3.3 Summary......Page 444 Part V: Conclusions......Page 450 Acronyms......Page 458 Symbols......Page 460 Definitions......Page 462 Table of Cases......Page 464 Literature......Page 468 Index......Page 516

A concise analysis of the relationship between patent rights and human rights is given in this book, focusing on the right to food. The UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights identified ‘apparent conflicts’ or ‘actual or potential conflicts’ between human rights and intellectual property rights. The TRIPS Agreement under the WTO Agreement and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights constitute the central treaties in the analysis. The book finds that the right to food and related human rights of the Covenant give important guidance when implementing intellectual property legislation and science policy in general. Moreover, the book does not find that the two treaties actually conflict. There are, however, concerns regarding the national implementation of the treaties.