Iraq's New Patent Law - A Declaration of War Against Farmers?

Guerilla News Network ^ | 29 November 2004 | Focus on the Global South and GRAIN

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

When Former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator L. Paul Bremer III left Baghdad after the highly publicized “transfer of sovereignty” in June 2004, he left his imprint through 100 orders that he enacted as chief of the occupation authority in Iraq. Among them is Order 81 regarding “Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety.”

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The new law is presented as being necessary to ensure the supply of good quality seeds in Iraq and to facilitate Iraq’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).5 What it will actually do is facilitate the penetration of Iraqi agriculture by the likes of Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, and Dow Chemical—the corporate giants that control seed trade across the globe. *********

So Iraq’s reconstruction is less about rebuilding domestic economies and capacities than about helping corporations approved by the occupying forces to capitalize on market opportunities in that devastated country.16 The legal framework established by Bremer ensures that although U.S. troops may leave Iraq at some point, U.S. domination of Iraq’s economy is here to stay.

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As with political sovereignty, Bremer’s 100 regulations have made food sovereignty nearly impossible for the Iraqi people. Iraq’s freedom and sovereignty will remain questionable for as long as Iraqis do not have control over what they sow, grow, reap, and eat. ******

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

Wacky commie patent haters alert! We've had plant patents in the U.S. forever, as have most civilized countries. But, of course, once they get them in Iraq, the farmers will be enslaved by Monsanto. Food sovreignty? Yikes!

[Moral Hazard]

Why would Gorillas care about patents anyway?

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

I suppose they'd be upset if someone aped their inventions.

[yankeedame]

What it will actually do is facilitate the penetration of Iraqi agriculture by the likes of Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, and Dow Chemical—the corporate giants that control seed trade across the globe. *********

Yes,siree bob, once Big Seeds gets it hands around a goverment's throat, look out!

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

NOBODY wants to get penetrated by Big Seeds.

[crazyhorse691]

This appears to be one of their more benign rants. Chemtrails is an absolute hoot. BackToSubject-amazing how opinion becomes scientific fact in the minds of these wackos.

[jrestrepo]

huhuhu...you said "big seed"!

[Moral Hazard]

"Chemtrails is an absolute hoot. "

I've actually worked on some of the "Chemtrail" stuff from the computer side, implementing a (non-classified) radar propogation model. We got a real kick out of seeing the "Chemtrail" stuff when we did a google search for some of our work.

[Eagle Eye]

As with political sovereignty, Bremer’s 100 regulations have made food sovereignty nearly impossible for the Iraqi people. Iraq’s freedom and sovereignty will remain questionable for as long as Iraqis do not have control over what they sow, grow, reap, and eat.

Iraqis can smuggle in all kinds of arms but now they're gonna starve because they can get seeds?

Please loan the author a twenty so he can buy a clue.

[Edgerunner]

I gotta say, you people find some of the most entertaining rants on the planet! This one I've seen before, but it's still funny the second time! Keep 'em coming...

[M. Dodge Thomas]

All this may not matter.

I was talking to a lawyer with an international practice recently, and he says it's quite clear that under international law an occupying power cannot bind a successor government to such regulations, that once an Iraqi government is in place it will be starting with a clean slate in establishing Iraqi law, and that that at that point none of our efforts to legislate for the Iraqis have legal effect.

According to this guy the rules on this are entirely clear, and he was quite surprised that our occupation government was not aware of (or as least had acted as though it was unaware) of this - he thought this might have resulted from occupation being primarly a Defense, rather than a State Department, effort.

He also said that he believes this is a real problem for the reconstruction effort, that companies are reluctant to sign contracts either to purchase Iraqi goods or supply Iraqi needs absent a firm legal protection of their rights, and that's one reason it's important to get a new goverment up and running as quickly as possible.