The recent law reforms and plant intellectual property law in Sri Lanka: compliance with the TRIPS and CBD

Abstract

The extension of intellectual property rights to agriculture is of crucial importance to Sri Lanka, as plant genetic resources play a significant role in the country's agriculture and food security. The challenge for Sri Lanka is to ensure these rights are implemented in a domestic context. In particular, a significant problem for Sri Lanka involves the successful implemen­tation of a national framework that will facilitate the objectives of the Agreement of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which Sri Lanka is a party. This article first provides an overview of the legal provisions relating to the various issues of intellectual property rights in plant genetic resources in Sri Lanka, and then considers how Sri Lanka fulfils its international obligations in compliance with TRIPS and CBD.