Briefings

Sunday 31st March 1996

Human Tissue Collection Initiatives by the U.S. Military; Colombian Indigenous Peoples' Cells in the U.S.; Accompanying maps showing cell collections inColombia and Papua New Guinea

Crucial Decisions in 1996. The Real Hot Spots.

Wednesday 31st January 1996

RAFI's survey of agricultural biodiversity reveals that 75% of ex situ genetic resources and technology are held in the North, while 83% of in-situ genetic resources and technology are held in the South. Multilateral regimes for agricultural biodiversity management must insure that proceeds from biodiversity benefits go to the South's farmers.

Bio-Prospectors Hall of Shame...or Guess Who's Coming to Pirate Your Plants?! Pros and Cons of Bilateral Bioprospecting Agreements

Tuesday 26th December 1995

ISSUE: Biodiversity prospecting is the exploration, extraction and screening of biological diversity and indigenous knowledge for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources. Bilateral bioprospecting agreements are sanctioned by the multilateral Convention on Biological Diversity. In the vast majority of cases, however, commercial bioprospecting agreements cannot be effectively monitored or enforced by source communities, countries, or by the Convention, and amount to little more than "legalized" bio-piracy.

Has the PPA Benefitted Society? The PPA's Relevance for the South.

Thursday 30th November 1995

RAFI examines plant utility patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office from 1985 through mid-1995. Utility plant patenting is a threat to world food security; exceedingly broad patents on biological materials and the processes used to manipulate them are "locking up" new plant biotechnologies in the hands of a small number of corporations.

Cases from Thailand, Gabon, Ecuador, and Peru

Saturday 30th September 1995

This issue looks at biopiracy case studies around the world including super-sweet brazzein from Gabon; the Foundation for Ethnobiology in Thailand; Peruvian indigenous peoples' rejection of Washington University's ICBG project; and more. A detailed list of bioprospecting and biopiracy activities (as of early 1996) is also included.

Staking Ever-Broader Claims on Entire Species and Important Traits; Implications for the South

Monday 31st July 1995

A detailed examination of the impact of the US Plant Patent Act. Passed by the US Congress in 1930, the PPA is the world's oldest sui generis intellectual property system designed for the patenting of life forms.

Indigenous Peoples Assert their Intellectual Integrity; Call for Life forms Patent-Free Zone in the Pacific; Life Forms Patent Update

Wednesday 31st May 1995

In the race to identify patent and commercialize human genes, scientists and their corporate partners are collecting DNA samples from remote island populations in the South Atlantic, Micronesia and the east China sea. This issue highlights Sequana's search for the "asthma gene" derived from DNA samples collected from the people of Tristan da Cunha.

Genetically Engineered Designer Oilseeds: What's in the Pipeline? Coconut: Pillar of the Economy or Sunset Industry for the Phillipines?

Friday 31st March 1995

In 1995, Calgene commercialized a genetically modified rapeseed that produces the lauric fatty acid - a product derived traditionally from tropical oils Will Calgene's high-lauric rapeseed displace markets for coconut and palm kernel oil producers in the tropics?

Industrial Patents on Microbes from the South; Deposits in the ATCC

Tuesday 31st January 1995

Privatization and patenting of microorganisms is encouraged by WTO TRIPs. RAFI examines the value of microbial markets and microbial biopiracy.

Updates on Pyrethrum, Species Patents, and Neem; Crucible Report: People, Plants, and Patents

Tuesday 31st May 1994

ISSUE: Despite international controversy over the patenting of human genes and other life forms, US-based genomic companies (in partnership with major pharmaceutical corporations), are filing patents for exclusive monopoly control on human genes and gene fragments.

IMPACT: The commercial potential of genomic technologies is still untested and unproved. But the commodification of human genetic material raises many profound questions: Who will control the genes and genetic information that may someday unlock secrets to genetic diagnosis and treatment of human diseases? Will the patent grab on human genes ultimately thwart innovation as well as information exchange between public and private sector researchers, and between North and South? Who will benefit, and at what cost to society?

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