H.E. Ambassador Dr. Walter Werner

Indonesia

5   PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE

83.   Indonesia would like to reiterate its view that the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity should be reflected in this Council by ensuring and maintaining the cohesion, coherence, and consistency between the two. These two internationally agreed instruments must be implemented in manner that is mutually supportive with respect to their objectives. Since the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol have formed the basis for the protection of genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge with provisions on prior informed consent for access and fair and equitable benefit sharing, the TRIPS Agreement needs to reflect the said provisions to avoid misappropriation and obliges Members to take necessary measures to ensure fair and equitable benefit sharing. 84.   The protection of genetic resources is of paramount importance to Indonesia and we consider that a legal obligation to establish a mandatory disclosure of origin as a requirement for patent applications will not only prevent misappropriation and enhance transparency on the utilization of genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge, but will also provide greater legal certainty as to the rights and obligations of the providers and users of genetic resources. 85.   We would also like to add that we should not delay substantive discussions in this Council for reasons that it is being negotiated in other fora, such as WIPO. The discussions to take place in this Council should reinforce what has already been agreed at the multilateral level, such as CBD, and should complement negotiations/discussions in other fora. We believe that parallel discussions will enhance effort and understanding of achieving a fair and balanced trading system with regard to intellectual property. 86.   In this regard, Indonesia would like to support the briefing by the CBD Secretariat in this Council.

The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matters at its next meeting.

14.   The Chair proposed that, following past practice, the three agenda items would be addressed together. Members had seen important developments in these areas, over the last decade. However, information on those developments had not been shared with the TRIPS Council. For example, the Review of Article 27.3(b) was based on an Illustrative List of Questions agreed by the Council. To date, only 25 Members had submitted responses to that list and there had been no responses or updates since 2003. Similarly, there had been no notifications of domestic mechanisms to protect genetic resources and traditional knowledge under Article 63.2 TRIPS. He encouraged delegations to submit or update responses and to notify relevant laws and regulations to the TRIPS Council. This would definitively facilitate and enrich the discussions. He recalled that there had been no new developments on two long-standing procedural issues, namely:
a. The suggestion, first made in November 2012, that the Secretariat update the three factual notes on the Council's previous discussions on TRIPS/CBD and related items; and
b. The proposal, initially submitted in October 2010, that the CBD Secretariat be invited to brief the Council on the Nagoya Protocol to the CBD.
15.   The representatives of India, Egypt, China, Brazil, Bangladesh, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Ecuador, Chinese Taipei, Chile, South Africa, Indonesia, Canada, Thailand, Australia, Japan, the United States of America, and Switzerland took the floor.
16.   The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matters at its next meeting.

IP/C/M/90, IP/C/M/90/Add.1