Natalia Lukiyanova/istockphoto
DCL
Let's start with the technical definition: "Intellectual property (IP) are legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law...Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets."
Why is this relevant to greenies? Jasmin Malik Chua of TreeHugger offers one reason: "Frighteningly, only three corporations now control an entire quarter of the world's seed markets. In developing countries, saving food-plant seed—a traditional practice as old as plant domestication—is against the law because of global politics through issues such as intellectual property rights." This is why the concept of eco-blame is important. Green activists have so many fires to put out, they can sometimes lose sight of the big picture and how global political issues dovetail with eco-issues.
On the climate change front, explains Mark Weisbrot at CounterPunch, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is "gearing up for a fight to limit the access of developing countries to Environmentally Sound Technologies." Weisbrot adds: "They fear that international climate change negotiations, taking place under the auspices of the United Nations, will erode the position of corporations holding patents on existing and future technologies. Developing countries such as Brazil, India, and China have indicated that if—as expected in the next few years—they are going to have to make sacrifices to reduce carbon emissions, they should be able to license some of the most efficient available technologies for doing so. Big business is worried about this, because they prefer that patent rights have absolute supremacy. They want to make sure that climate change talks don't erode the power that they have gained through the World Trade Organization."
Can you say "short-sightedness"?
Got a tip or a post idea for us to write about on Planet Green? Email pgtips (at) treehugger (dot) com. Dig deeper into Planet Green...
