Suneetha M S

(UNU-IAS)

Balakrishna

Pisupati (UNEP)

Benefit Sharing !

The Second Component of

the Third Objective!

What does the study address?

• Issues and Principles related to

benefit sharing – Access and

Ownership, Products, IP, Third

Party Entry, Benefit Sharing

• Entry points for

discussions/policy making

The Principles

• The principles are discussed under five topics in

the order of a typical scheme in a bio-

prospecting exercise:

– Defining ownership over resources and related

knowledge;

– By-products/Derivatives;

– Benefit sharing per se;

– Third Party Transfers; and

– Intellectual Property concerns.

• Sectoral Approaches and Issues

OwnershipIssues

1. Defining ownership-

1. MTAs – Transfer of possession or

ownership!

2. Ownership of sample or species!

2. Defining concepts of ownership and

knowledge

3. Transboundary issues

Derivatives/ By-Products

Issues

1. Definition of by-products and

derivatives and the scope of a product

2. Terms for unmodified by-products

3. Terms for modified by-products

Benefit Sharing

• Contexts and circumstances

• For whom is benefit sharing

warranted?

Benefit sharing—contd..

Identification of various ABS scenarios

1. Terms when original genetic resource is only used for research purposes

2. Terms when original genetic resource is commercialized

3. Terms when information on original genetic resource is commercialized

Benefit sharing—contd..

4. Terms when a natural by-product of

genetic resource is developed and

commercialized

5. Terms when a synthetic by-product of

genetic resource is developed and

commercialized

6. Terms when a by-product analogous to

the original molecule isolated is

developed and commercialized

Benefit sharing—contd..7. Terms when research product developed has

same uses as TK information accessed (direct/ unmodified use)

8. Terms when research product developed with same uses as TK information accessed is commercialized

9. Terms when research product developed has uses different from TK information accessed (indirect/ modified use)

10. Terms when research product developed with uses different from TK information accessed is commercialized

BUT!!!

Scenarios may be part of a continuum

• Reference to commercial and non-commercial activities to capitalize on the market returns of the product during various stages of value addition.

• Options to negotiate on two terms:

1) on a commitment for renegotiation of an agreement in the event of commercialization; and

2) to enter into a benefit sharing arrangement that will provide a share of benefits at every stage of value addition and market capitalization (Milestones)

• The value of the resource might increase due to

increased information, and the negotiating

power of the supplier is further strengthened.

• Hence, milestone payment streams based on

appropriate economic valuation of the product at

each stage could ensure a higher rate of return

to the supplier.

• Also be preferable to users over deterrent

upfront payments on products, whose value,

though promising, is still vague.

Benefit sharing—contd..• Identify Baseline typology of benefits (What), timing

(When), and volume (How much)

• A baseline indicates the modes and mechanisms by which benefits can be shared

Broad categories of benefits include

• Monetary benefits- upfront payments, milestone payments, funds, supply contracts/ linkages, IP benefits, etc.;

• Institutional benefits- such as venture capital funds, enterprise development;

• Capacity building- at various levels;

• Access to and transfer of technologies;

• Sharing and exchange of information

Note

• Useful to base decisions, especially with regard to monetary benefits, by devising a system to value potential benefits from the bioprospecting activity.

• This will also enable in identifying lacunae in capacities and institutions, which can be addressed in the benefit sharing scheme.

• The Role of Economic Valuation of Genetic Resources in appropriate Pricing of GRs

Third party transfer of research

results

• Defining Third party transfer

• Question of what is being transferred• Original material;

• Publications;

• Research product;

• Derivatives/ By-products;

• Intellectual Property rights (IP)

• Under what circumstances are terms for

transfer set? (commercial, research, etc)

Third party transfers contd..

• What are baseline terms for transfer ?

eg. type of resources, products, in whose

presence, authority to be intimated, type of

benefits to be shared, obligation of receiver

to honour benefit sharing agreements, and

such related terms

Intellectual Property

Issues

1. Joint Ownership of IP

1.Define joint ownership

2.Under what circumstances is it warranted?

2. Role of Certificates of Origin/ Source/

Legal Provenance

Actors in benefit sharing

• Direct ‘’actors’’- local communities ,

researchers and institutions

• Supportive/facilitating ‘’actors’’-

government, NGOs and others

Assessment of the extent to which respective

‘’actors’’ contributed to improving success

rate for a benefit sharing agreement

Therefore……..

• Benefit Sharing Guidelines are intricately

linked with Access provisions;

• There can be no single model for ABS

implementation

• Markets, Pricing, Supply and Demand

Analysis and Ownership form the basis for

a successful benefit sharing arrangement

Conclusions …contd..

What we have been focusing so far is on

economic, legal and social dimensions of ABS

But

Are we forgetting to address

the Equity Issues??

Thank You for your

Attention!