Biopiracy: International Regimes and Challenges

Biopiracy is critical to the conservation of biodiversity because it is a complex issue on which there is no such suitable agreement in the international community. The growing expansion of technology pushed developed countries to protect their technological knowledge, culminating in the adoption of minimum standards for patent law in the World Trade Organization's TRIP'S Agreement. Efforts by such weaker developing countries to address the negative effects of IPRs on developing countries and biodiversity have been far less effective. The growing concern about the disappearance has resulted in the adoption of various legal instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, TRIPs-World Trade Organization, and so on, but mandatory disclosure could be used to monitor compliance with the CBD and remedy biopiracy. This paper deals with the legal perspectives as well as effective remedy to biopiracy from genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and private agreements has been examined.