Who Owns Green Tech? By World Trade Organization law, if a patented drug can improve public health in a developing country, it’s available for compulsory licensing. That means that developing countries can make generics of the drug while paying a small royalty instead of the full fee to the patent-holder—a practice that makes patent-holding companies deeply uncomfortable. To date, the only drugs so licensed have been antiretrovirals to fight AIDS in Africa. But as nations move toward global restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions for the good of us all, developing countries have begun to ponder whether other patented inventions could also be licensed. If China, for instance, decides it needs the plans for an electric car to meet a reduced emissions quota, can it get them licensed for generic production?
Developing countries think the answer should be yes. To combat such a revision of WTO law, these and other US companies have recently formed the Coalition for Innovation, Employment, and Development. Carbon labelling - Cutting Carbon Footprints - Greener Living - Lightning Labels Blog: Wal-Mart To Develop Universal Sustainabil. Walmart Sustainability Index « World is Green. At Wal-Mart, Labels to Reflect Green Intent. Sustainable Measures.