Technological Advances, IPR, Food Security and Poverty in Africa

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Technological Advances, IPR, Food Security and
Poverty in Africa
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation
(AATF) A New Partnership www.aftechfound.org Pre
sented By Eugene Terry AATF
Implementing Director
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Technology Development in the Life Sciences May
2004

• Intellectual Property and Public Investment for
  Pharmaceuticals
• Agriculture perspectives from the trenches
• Challenges for PPPs (IFPRI 2004)
• PP partners have fundamentally different
  incentives
• PP partnerships hindered by persistent negative
  perceptions of each other
• PP partners lack organizational mechanisms to
  reduce intersectoral competition for key assets
  and resources
• PP partners have limited information on
  successful working models

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Agricultural Technology Access and Delivery for
SSA

• The rational for the AATF
• To create effective mechanisms to negotiate the
  access and transfer of proprietary and other
  technology held by the public and private sectors
  anywhere in the world
• To create appropriate long-term networks to
  manage the deployment of these technologies at
  all stages in the value chain

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Design Models for the Initiative

• AATF is work in progress
• There are no design models for the AATF to copy
• Quote What we have to learn to do, we learn by
  doing Anon

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The Challenges

• IDENTIFY , UNDERSTAND and UTILIZE, INTELLECTUAL
  PROPERTY INFORMATION(Delmer et al 2003)
• Understand the contextual factors affecting
  access and transfer of agricultural
  technologies
• Develop a robust capacity to assess the risks and
  benefits of these technologies

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Mission/Core Business

• To link needs of resource-poor farmers in SSA
  with potential technological (biological,
  chemical, mechanical, information) solutions
• Identify and facilitate royalty-free transfers of
  proprietary technologies through negotiation
• Enter into contractual agreements with existing
  institutions that will manage deployment of the
  technologies
• Ensure that subsequent constraints after access
  are addressed

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Partnerships and Stewardship

• Act as the responsible party ensuring
  technologies are appropriately and responsibly
  used across the value chain
• Address concerns of IP Holders and End-Users
  (Regulatory and Liability Issues)

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Liability and other concerns of IP Holders

• Liability exposure
• Lack of knowledge of regulatory laws in SSA
• Liability and regulatory issues under multiple
  legal regimes
• Mis-use of the technology and associated
  confidential information

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AATF Liability and Redress/Mitigation Mechanisms

• 1.Business plan includes liability risk analysis
• 2. Indemnification of IP Holder by AATF
• 3. UK Incorporation Choice of Law mechanism,
  Agreements under UK Law limits liability against
  companies
• 4. Reasonable Burden of Proof - works both ways
  for IP Holders, AATF, and any other plaintiffs

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Enforcement of Judgements

• Concern of IP Holders on the issue of limited
  Jurisdictions in which IP is protected
• Infringement judgements obtained in countries
  where IP is protected may be enforced even in
  countries where IP not protected, subject to
  situations e.g
• where enforcement does not infringe or violate
  public policy
• Where rules of natural justice prevailed, e.g
  where the defendant was able to contest claims

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Partners and Investors

• Agricultural Producers/Consumers
• Regional and National Institutions/Agencies
• NEPAD/ECA/FARA/SROs/NARs
• International Institutions/Agencies
• CGIAR/ARIs
• Local/International NGOs
• Crop RD Networks

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Partners and Investors (continued)

• Agricultural Technology Industry IP holders
  (Monsanto DowAgro Pioneer/DuPont Syngenta
  BASF)
• African trade and agribusiness organizations
• International investors The Rockefeller
  Foundation USAID UK/DFID Kirkhouse Trust
• African CountriesGovernments

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Funding Arrangements

• AATF will provide funds to finance
• 75 of upstream activities and project
  development costs
• 25 of downstream (implementation) costs
• all project follow-up costs
• AATF will seek matched financial support from
  public/private sector investors, and in-kind
  support from NARIs, CG Centers, NGOs,
  Multilateral/Bilateral partners

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Board Approved Priority Problem Areas for AATF

• Striga control in cereals
• Insect resistance in maize
• Nutritional quality enhancement in maize and rice
  
• Cowpea productivity improvement
• Bananas and plantain productivity
• Mycotoxins in food grains
• Drought tolerance in cereals
• Cassava productivity improvement

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Project-specific activities

• Technology licensing and regulatory approval
• Freedom to operate (FTO) assessments
• Licensing and sub-licensing for regional and
  Africa-wide distribution
• Liability protection
• Commercialisation
• Stewardship

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Pilot projects

• Striga Control in Cereals
• (Non GM intervention)
• Partners CIMMYT, KARI BASF

Product Seed of herbicide-resistant maize coated
with an herbicide for control of Striga
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Picture courtesy of CIMMYT
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Picture courtesy of CIMMYT
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The Striga example (contd)

• .

CIMMYT
IR gene know-how IR gene TM
Multinational
License of IR gene, know-how TMs, plant varieties
Seed coat formulation
AATF
Herbicide sales Herbicide TM license
Sub-license of IR gene, know-how, TMs plant
varieties
Seed Co. No. 2
Seed Co. No. 1
Seed Co. No. 3
Sales to farmers of coated seed
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
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Key project stages and tasks

• Define ownership of IP rights
• Establish process for registration of rights
• Negotiate terms of licences
• Negotiate production and distribution agreements

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Key project stages and tasks (contd)

• Define ownership of IP rights
• Elements
• Confirm ownership of IP
• Other appropriated technology
• Plant breeders rights
• Issues
• Which IP elements protected
• Where are patents registered
• On what conditions are IP holders prepared to
  licence the technology

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Key project stages and tasks (contd)

• Establish process for registration of rights
• Elements
• Confirm registration status of all products
• Germplasm (PBR)
• Issues
• Phasing and timing of registration process
• Which stakeholders should apply for PBR??CG
  Center?? National Research Center?? AATF??(Africa
  wide implication)

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Key project stages and tasks (contd)

• Negotiation for production distribution
  agreements
• Elements
• Licence/sub-licence for production distribution
  of product
• Key terms
• Royalties
• Exclusivity
• Labelling
• Access to altered component of technology
• Issues
• Terms of production distribution agreements
• Identification of seed companies

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Key project stages and tasks (contd)

• Negotiation of terms of licensing
• Elements
• Terms for RD or for commercialisation
• Rights to future developments
• Sub-licensing
• Licensing termination
• License territory
• Issues
• Structure of licensing
• Which stakeholder dictates preference (where
  there are multi-stakeholder interests)

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Simplified Project Flow Diagram
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Simplified Project Flow Diagram(continued)