81. The representative of Nigeria said that the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD should be implemented in a mutually supportive and consistent manner. Members should require patent applicants to disclose the source of the biological material that constituted input in an invention and the evidence of benefit sharing through their domestic laws. There was an emerging consensus among Members that the amendment of the TRIPS Agreement would ensure prior informed consent and sharing of the benefits arising from the use of the genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and therefore avoid erroneously granted patents. The amendment would fulfill the objectives and principles provided in Articles 7 and 8 of the TRIPS Agreement, thereby establishing an adequate and effective coordination between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD. The proposal contained in document TN/C/W/59 would enhance international action to ensure the mutual supportiveness between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD. It would also help to avoid potential conflict in the application and practice of the two agreements. The African Group wished the Director General to resume his consultations on that issue in line with paragraph 39 of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.
