Balancing Intellectual Property And Human Rights

According to an article in the the September 15, 2004 issue of Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, on September 14, a group of intellectual property experts convened in Geneva to consider the relation between intellectual property and human rights. Discussions at the meeting, which was organised by the civil society group "3D -- Trade, Human Rights, and Equitable Economy", focused on a draft "general comment" on the International Covenant for the Protection of Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, and specifically on Article 15(1)(c) of the Covenant, which highlights "the right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author." Their draft general comment reportedly addresses the distinction between human and intellectual property rights, "obligations of comparative priority" such as the right to health, food and education, warnings about disproportionate use of compulsory licensing, and the responsibility od states to provide effective measures for the protection of indigenous intellectual property and an appropriate enforcement system.