| Summary: | 碩士 === 東吳大學 === 法律學系 === 98 === The presence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) promotes trade between nations. However, along with increases in trade, more disorder and conflicts of interests that exclude the majority of the population from wellness are created. On the other hand, the growing number of trade dispute cases has shown that the developing countries (South) are beginning to realize and use genetic resources and the supply of raw materials as a means of protection to bargain and fight with the developed countries (North). Being a WTO member and having signed the “cross-strait economic cooperation agreement (ECFA)” with China, Taiwan recognizes that the circulation of pharmaceutical goods is not just a technical issue, but is also related to trade and politics. It can be predicted that the dispute will become more transnational in nature.
This article first briefly introduces the global trends of traditional medicine and discusses the problems which have been triggered by biopiracy. This is followed by a review of the relationship between traditional medicine, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge. International conventions practiced globally to avoid biopiracy are then introduced. On the other hand, the rare earths dispute case is used to assess whether the resource-rich countries are in breach of the general exemptions of free trade principles. The second main purpose of this article is to examine the problem of biopiracy due to free trade. A brief introduction to the impact of foreign development on the important issues of the biodiversity and intellectual property related to the protection of traditional medicine is given, followed by a review and analysis of the related legislation. Finally, the importance of the general exemptions of free trade agreements is discussed, and the special situation between Taiwan and China is introduced to offer feasible advice, including policy and legislation, for the protection of traditional medicine.
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