Calle R
Faculty of Law, Biotechnology Program, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
J Ethnopharmacol. 1996 Apr;51(1-3):127-42; discussion 142-6. doi: 10.1016/0378-8741(95)01355-5.
The property, usage, and access to genetic resources, is today one of the primary topics in international business, as a result of the strategic importance of the resources for the biotechnology industry. Internationally, the sovereignty that each country has over its natural patrimony is recognized. However, the new laws of international marketing have obligated countries in the process of development, such as Colombia, to adopt and copy a concept of intellectual property on living resources that does not have anything to do with the country's sociocultural identity, and sometimes even does not take into account its material enjoyment. The new juridical movement that treats genetic resources as private property produces a cultural conflict between indigenous populations, Afro-Americans and peasants, because for them the genetic resources are an element of community life. In these communities, knowledge is freely transmitted; it is an understanding that they have to conserve their agricultural customs and the relationship that they have with the environment. They do not recognize the term "property' according to patenting laws. These elements have to be considered, respected, and guaranteed in the laws that recognize the genetic resources in the country. On the other hand, not even countries that are pioneers in biotechnological development can adopt a concept about patents that is in agreement with the particularities that the living materials possess. This is obviously the reason for the numerous discussions on the legal interpretation, as well as complicated debates in court. Confronting that situation, there are countries rich in biodiversity, such as Colombia, but which do not have a proper concept and are not economically strong in the international context. These countries have to copy inadequate protection policies that do not take into account all their rights. This paper describes some of the technical, juridical, and sociocultural difficulties which Colombia has to confront, in order to set a guideline on patenting living organisms, and on the access and usage of the genetic resources.
由于遗传资源对生物技术产业具有战略重要性，其属性、用途及获取方式如今已成为国际商业的主要议题之一。在国际上，各国对其自然资源的主权得到承认。然而，国际营销的新法则迫使处于发展进程中的国家，比如哥伦比亚，去采纳并照搬一种与该国社会文化特性毫无关联、有时甚至未考虑到其物质享用情况的关于生物资源的知识产权概念。将遗传资源视为私有财产的新法律动向，在原住民、非裔美国人和农民群体之间引发了文化冲突，因为对他们而言，遗传资源是社区生活的一个要素。在这些社区中，知识是自由传播的；这是一种他们必须维护其农业习俗以及与环境之间关系的认知。他们并不认可专利法意义上的“财产”概念。在承认本国遗传资源的法律中，必须考虑、尊重并保障这些要素。另一方面，即使是生物技术发展的先驱国家，也无法采纳一种与生物材料所具有的特性相符的专利概念。这显然就是引发众多关于法律解释的讨论以及法庭上复杂辩论的原因。面对这种情况，有一些生物多样性丰富的国家，比如哥伦比亚，却没有合适的概念，在国际背景下经济实力也不强。这些国家不得不照搬那些未充分考虑其所有权利的不适当的保护政策。本文描述了哥伦比亚为制定关于生物有机体专利以及遗传资源获取与使用的指导方针而必须面对的一些技术、法律和社会文化方面的困难。
