29. The representative of Peru said that document IP/C/W/429 enabled the Council to follow up on the Checklist which had been almost universally recognized as a positive step towards negotiations on this item. He pointed out that the sponsoring countries would continue to elaborate and develop the issues contained in the Checklist and that they hoped to put disclosure into context with the issues of prior informed consent, access and benefit sharing in future papers.
30. He highlighted the importance of disclosure of origin for giving national patent offices a better basis for examining patent applications, especially for determining the scope of a patent. He believed that administrative costs would not be as relevant as the increased assistance available to examiners if the burden of proof was shifted to the applicants. He said that the useful information available to the national offices would help avoid cases of bio-piracy such as those mentioned in the document. He said that Peru had recently fought a case regarding the substance "Maca" and said that a more detailed presentation of this case would be made at the next meeting of the Council.
31. He informed the Council that last May the Peruvian Congress had passed a law for the protection of and access to biological diversity and collective knowledge of indigenous peoples. A national Commission consisting of representatives from the National Intellectual Property Office, ministries, public institutions, academia and civil society had been created which was responsible for creating and maintaining a register of biological resources and traditional knowledge of Peru's indigenous peoples. This was to be used to identify and follow up applications for patents which were sought abroad on the basis of genetic resources and traditional knowledge from Peru, as had been the case with "Maca", and to protect communities from bio-piracy.
32. In the light of this effort aimed at complementing existing national legislation, he believed that an obligation to disclose would put all countries in a better position to defend their genetic resources and traditional knowledge with ensuing benefits for indigenous peoples. As discussions in other forums did not directly tackle this issue, his delegation believed that it was in the TRIPS Council that this issue should be discussed as this was the only way in which the WTO could implement the Doha Development Agenda in an authentic manner.
