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What is biopiracy?
Biopiracy is the illegal, irregular or inequitable access to and use of biological resources and its derived products, as well as the associated traditional knowledge of indigenous people, especially through the use of intellectual property rights to obtain exclusive rights.

Over the past few years, resources like ayahuasca, maca, quinoa and related traditional knowledge related to them, have become part of inventions which are protected by patents or other intellectual property rights, with no recognition to their origin. It is this misappropriation or illegal access to these resources and knowledge which the concept of “biopiracy” seeks to describe.

Peru has strong expectations that access to its resources and to indigenous peoples traditional knowledge is based on fairness and equity, with due compliance with existing legal norms and regulatory frameworks.

The key issues surrounding the problem of biopiracy include:

  • Understanding the precise legal status of genetic resources and traditional knowledge,
  • Understanding the exact boundaries of biopiracy in order to ensure more effective measures to confront this phenomenon,
  • At present, bioinformatics, proteomics, genetic engineering and synthetic biology, among others, promote more subtle ways of misappropriation and illegal access to and use of genetic resources and traditional knowledge.   

To address these issue, the National Commission Against Biopiracy (formed by ANR (university representative), CENSI (intercultural health systems), CIP (International Potato Centre), CONAM (national environmental council – currently the Ministry pf the Environment), INDECOPI (IP office), INDEPA (indigenous peoples representative), INIA (agricultural research centre), INRENA (natural resources institute), IPPN (natural products association), PROMPEX (export association), MINCETUR (Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism), RREE (Ministry of Foreign Relations), SPDA (Peruvian Society for Environmental Law) has the responsibility of acting against biopiracy as part of its legal mandate since 2004 (Law 28216).

 
Some definitions of biopiracy include:

Use of intellectual property laws (patents and plant breeders rights) to obtain monopoly control over genetic resources which are based on the knowledge and innovation of indigenous people".

- RAFI Rural Advancement Foundation International
 
 
 

Appropriation of knowledge and genetic resources of indigenous communities and farmers by individuals or institutions which seek exclusive control (through patents and intellectual property) over this knowledge and resources. ETC considers that intellectual property is predatory of the rights and knowledge of these communities ”.

- ETC Group
 
 

Non authorized nor compensated access to and use of biological resources and traditional knowledge pertaining to indigenous people by third parties, in contravention to existing principles in the Convention on Biological Diversity and national legislation. This appropriation can take place through physical control, intellectual property rights over products that incorporate these illegally obtained elements or sometimes through other claims ”.

-Law 28216 for the prevention of biopiracy (Peru, 2004)

 
 
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