Roseau, Dominica – October 22, 2009……. The implications of the World Trade Organisation DOHA Development Agenda (DDA) Negotiations on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for the economies of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is the subject for discussion at a two-day consultation scheduled to take place at the Garraway Hotel in Roseau, Dominica, from October 28-29, 2009.
The meeting will receive an update on the state of play of the negotiations on intellectual property in the DOHA round and elicit responses from officials on the issues of interest to the OECS region.
The outcome of the meeting will inform the preparation of a revised OECS position paper on trade related intellectual property rights which will be tabled during the DDA negotiations and also in the discussions in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Discussions on TRIPS in the DDA are centred on three issues, namely: the multilateral register for wines and spirits geographical indications; extending higher level geographical indications protection beyond wines and spirits; and proposals to require patent applicants to disclose the origin of genetic material and traditional knowledge (“disclosure”).
OECS countries, as proponents for the protection of traditional knowledge in other fora and as a region rich in biodiversity, the disclosure of the origin of genetic material and traditional knowledge used in inventions is an issue of vital importance to the region.
Participants at the consultation will include officials from the OECS Secretariat, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Consumer and Diaspora Affairs in Dominica and representatives from a wide cross-section of Dominica’s private sector.
The consultation is being organised by the OECS Secretariat in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Hub & Spokes project.
A short opening ceremony will take place at the Garraway Hotel on Wednesday, October 28th beginning at 9am.
