Order 81: Iraq's new patent law is a declaration of war against farmers

international | anti-capitalism | other press

Wednesday November 24, 2004 17:25

by redjade

just how evil can this occupation get?

When former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator L. Paul Bremer III left Baghdad after the so-called "transfer of sovereignty" in June 2004, he left behind the 100 orders he enacted as chief of the occupation authority in Iraq. Among them is Order 81 on "Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety."

Order 81 (26 April 2004)
'Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety Law'
> download it:
http://www.iraqcoalition.org/regulations/20040426_CPAORD_81_Patents_Law.pdf

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Iraq's new patent law:
A declaration of war against farmers
October 2004
http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=6

When former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator L. Paul Bremer III left Baghdad after the so-called "transfer of sovereignty" in June 2004, he left behind the 100 orders he enacted as chief of the occupation authority in Iraq. Among them is Order 81 on "Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety." [1] This order amends Iraq's original patent law of 1970 and unless and until it is revised or repealed by a new Iraqi government, it now has the status and force of a binding law. [2] With important implications for farmers and the future of agriculture in Iraq, this order is yet another important component in the United States' attempts to radically transform Iraq's economy.

WHO GAINS?

For generations, small farmers in Iraq operated in an essentially unregulated, informal seed supply system. Farm-saved seed and the free innovation with and exchange of planting materials among farming communities has long been the basis of agricultural practice. This has been made illegal under the new law. The seeds farmers are now allowed to plant - "protected" crop varieties brought into Iraq by transnational corporations in the name of agricultural reconstruction - will be the property of the corporations. While historically the Iraqi constitution prohibited private ownership of biological resources, the new US-imposed patent law introduces a system of monopoly rights over seeds. Inserted into Iraq's previous patent law is a whole new chapter on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) that provides for the "protection of new varieties of plants." PVP is an intellectual property right (IPR) or a kind of patent for plant varieties which gives an exclusive monopoly right on planting material to a plant breeder who claims to have discovered or developed a new variety. So the "protection" in PVP has nothing to do with conservation, but refers to safeguarding of the commercial interests of private breeders (usually large corporations) claiming to have created the new plants.

To qualify for PVP, plant varieties must comply with the standards of the UPOV [3] Convention, which requires them be new, distinct, uniform and stable. Farmers' seeds cannot meet these criteria, making PVP-protected seeds the exclusive domain of corporations.

rest of article: http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=6
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GRAIN is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) which promotes the sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge.
http://www.grain.org/

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More info and links:

Iraqi Farmers Aren't Celebrating World Food Day
Nov 11, 2004
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/iraq_seeds.htm

above info found at
http://www.utne.com/webwatch/

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Comments (3 of 3)

Additional Info.....

Tue Jan 25, 2005 18:43

http://abutamam.blogspot.com/2005/01/for-record-us-declares-iraqis-can-not.html

Use GM Seeds and win a free T-shirt!

Tue Feb 08, 2005 17:13

Seed savers targeted
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=10731

Under the new rules, local growers are forced instead to purchase annual licenses from corporations and will receive new seed every year. Many GM wheat strains are engineered to become barren in the next generation, to prevent farmers from reusing the seed. Even farmers who refuse to plant modified crops may be affected, as airborne cross-pollination from GM fields to non-GM fields is not unusual; however, even if cross-breeding is completely unintentional, the company owning the patent on certain genetic traits can claim the entire next generation as its own property. In several districts of Iraq, soldiers of the US Army’s 256th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) have been distributing free, genetically modified (GM) wheat seed to farmers since December last year, as part of “Operation Amber Waves”, an effort by the Agricultural Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq (ARDI) to introduce “high-quality” seeds to the occupied country. According to US military reports, farmers received free wheat, barley, and fertilizer, as well as a “United Farmers of Iraq” T-shirt, as part of “Operation Amber Waves”.

GM Seeds as Humanitarian gesture...

Tue Feb 08, 2005 17:30

''"Iraq's wheat seed has been degraded tremendously because the farmers harvest their grain and then use the same wheat to replant," Acree said. "What they have right now is fit for livestock. We’re trying to bring that wheat grade back up to where it’s good for human consumption. Thus they can get a better price on the market and can start selling it internationally. This will help the economy tremendously." So far, the operation has brought in 434 tons of very high grade wheat seed.''

http://www.iraqprocurement.com/docs/new618.htm

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''“Handing out free seed and shirts is just the first step,” said St. Petersburg, Fla. native Capt. William Powers, the battalion’s civil affairs officer. “We are currently in the process of building a farmer’s co-op facility that will have a large meeting room, a soil and water laboratory and a large warehouse to store equipment and supplies.”''

http://www.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/news/News%20archives/october%2004/amber%20waves.htm

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Order 81: Iraq's new patent law is a declaration of war against farmers

Comments (3 of 3)