HC Deb 12 March 1999 vol 327 cc405-6W
Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his Department's policy in respect of the forthcoming review of TRIPS clauses on the protection of biological resources. [74848]

Mr. Battle

[holding answer 5 March 1999]: The current exclusions from patentability for biological materials as set out in Article 27.3(b) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement allow all WTO members sufficient flexibility to implement patent regimes appropriate to their individual circumstances, within internationally agreed boundaries. This provision allows national intellectual property regimes to focus clearly on technical contributions whether they be by genetic modification or traditional plant breeding techniques.