The Interface between Access to Genetic Resources, Benefit Sharing and Intellectual Property Right Laws in Ethiopia: Analysis of their Synergies
| dc.contributor.advisor | Merso, Fikremarkos (LL.B, LL.M, PhD; Assistant Professor | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mirete, Nega | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-12-06T17:48:49Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-11-08T11:42:17Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-12-06T17:48:49Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-11-08T11:42:17Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2010-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The issue of the relationship between Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing (ABS) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) is partly related to whether or not patents or other IPRs over genetic resource related inventions should be conditional up on Genetic Resources (GRs) being accessed legally as per ABS laws and regulations of the country from which they are accessed. Several national ABS laws now require that an application for IPR based on GRs or have made use of GRs disclose the source/origin of the GR, proof of prior informed consent (PIC) and proof of benefit sharing arrangements (the disclosure requirements). These requirements are put as a condition to access GRs under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Disclosure requirements, as a way to prevent misappropriation of GRs through IPRs without benefit sharing arrangements, have been proposed in different international fora and national lawmaking processes. The recently adopted Nagoya Protocol on ABS has while addressing these issues it does not include mandatory DRs as a compliance mechanism. The issue is also being discussed in the TRIPs Council (Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). This study seeks to address the relationship between IPRs and ABS with a particular focus on the disclosure requirements. In that light analyses have been made on the pertinent international law on the subject as well as on Ethiopian laws having relevance to the issue. An attempt has also been made to examine the two ABS Agreements Ethiopia has concluded thus far. The analyses in the paper have come with the following findings: (1) the Ethiopian legal regime on access to GRs, with a view to create a link between ABS and IPRs, requires the access permit holder to recognize the locality from where the GR was accessed as origin in IPR applications; (2) the Proclamation on Inventions, Minor Inventions and Industrial Designs does not make the patentability of inventions based on GRs contingent up on lawful access of the resources thereto; (3) the legal regime providing for plant breeders’ rights has made proof of access in accordance with access legislations as a condition for the grant of a plant breeder right; (4) the two ABS agreements Ethiopia has concluded thus far have included IPR related provisions and in particular, they have imposed an obligation on user companies to recognize Ethiopia as a country of origin in the former and source in the latter in IPR applications on products developed from the accessed GRs. Based on the analyses, the paper has made a range of recommendations with a view to ensuring a coherent relationship between IPRs and ABS in Ethiopia. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/14957 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | en_US |
| dc.subject | Access and Benefit sharing, intellectual property rights, disclosure requirements | en_US |
| dc.title | The Interface between Access to Genetic Resources, Benefit Sharing and Intellectual Property Right Laws in Ethiopia: Analysis of their Synergies | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |