FARM IP, ENTER WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization has announced clearly that it intends to play a role—and considering the clout WIPO enjoys it implies a significant part—in promoting intellectual property (IP) in agriculture to enhance productivity. The UN body stepped into this touchy arena with a seminar at its Geneva headquarters that has gone almost unnoticed. The June 14 seminar had just a handful of participants—India was one of them—for the day-long deliberations on ‘How the Private and the Public Sectors Use IP to Enhance Agricultural Productivity’ but its rationale for pushing IP is fraught with problems.