---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1996 16:21:38
From: verde@acecol.ecx.ec
To: ENVIRONMENT IN LATIN AMERICA NETWORK <elan@csf.colorado.edu>
Subject: Environmentalists block Intell Prop Rights Accord
July 26 1996
CONGRESSMEN AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS UNITE TO STOP
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ACCORD WITH U.S.
Quito Ecuador - A last ditch attempt to rush through the ratification of an intellectual
property rights treaty with the U.S. was blocked late last night when environmentalists,
aided by deputies opposed to the accord, staged a peaceful "sit in" of the Congressional
chamber.
Members of Congress attempted to use the last working day before the new government
assumes power in August to push through the accord, amongst other legislation, with
little time for debate. However, after twenty minutes of the occupation by members of
Accion Ecologica, an environmental group based in Quito, the president of the
Ecuadorian Congress, Fabian Alarcon, who himself opposed the ratification of the
accord, closed the session.
Outraged by recent applications in the U.S. for patents on both widely available
medicines and sacred plants, many Ecuadorians have staunchly opposed the U.S. deal,
which would make the recognition of these patents obligatory in Ecuador. Opposition
ranges from indigenous groups to national pharmaceutical manufacturers and even
Congress itself, where the international affairs commission recently recommended non-
ratification.
Originally signed in 1993 by the Ecuadorian Ambassador to the U.S., Edgar Teran, and
representatives of the U.S. government, the treaty covers intellectual property rights,
and most importantly the patenting of plants and "essentially non biological processes"
such as plants cultured in the laboratory and human genetic sequences.
Other contentious issues include Micro organisms and microbiological processes can
also be patented, something not possible under the terms of the Pacto Andino of which
Ecuador is a member; that the pact does not recognize traditional knowledge of
campesino and native communities nor does it benefit them; that the issue of
technology transfer to countries in the south is not addressed; and that there are
absolutley no financial benefits for Ecuador from any type of patents recognised by the
accord.
According to Dr. Elizabeth Bravo a biologist and member of Accion Ecologica, "the
treaty has major defects and should be discarded, in fact some of the major points
contradict the multi-lateral treaties such as the Uruguay round of the GATT
(administered by the World Trade Organisation) and the Pacto Andino (which includes
Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela)".
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
ELIZABETH BRAVO, ACCION ECOLOGICA 593-2-547-516