November 3, 2005 - November 4, 2005

United Nations University/Institute of Advanced Studies

Paris, France

Fifteen years after the first suggestion that intellectual property can be used to conserve biodiversity, we are still just beginning to explore how this can best be accomplished. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) established guidelines and objectives for protecting biodiversity and standardizing intellectual property protection. International, national, and private measures and scholarly analysis are mounting. But the ultimate goal -- conserving biological and cultural diversity by linking them with their benefits - remains elusive.