PIRATES WANTED! A CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2006 CAPTAIN HOOK AWARDS FOR BIOPIRACY!

Name and shame the biopirates & celebrate the resistance at www.captainhookawards.org

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At the 2006 meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (March 20th-31st in Curitiba, Brazil) civil society organisations from The Coalition Against Biopiracy (CAB) will be awarding prizes to the individuals, corporations and governments who either committed biopiracy* or fought against it in the last few years. The Captain Hook awards for Biopiracy is a biannual event exposing the ongoing theft of our biological and cultural heritage through life patenting, new technologies and corporate plunder. We need your nominations now.

Point out the pirates! What is the most outrageous biopiracy case in your country? Who is ripping off indigenous knowledge in your community? Who is grabbing your genes, patenting your plants or monopolizing your molecules? Has anyone co-opted your culture? Trademarked your patron saint? Claimed ownership of your language? Help put the spotlight on the greediest biopirates from across the globe by nominating them for the Captain Hook Awards for Biopiracy. Only the nastiest offenders will skulk away as winners.

Reward the resistance! It's not all skulls and crossbones. The CAB also awards those who have fought bravely and successfully to defend the commons. You can also nominate those who have fended off acts of biopiracy, repelled patents or defended people's rights. The winners will receive a "Cog" award (named after 'cog' ships designed to ward off pirates).

Previous 2004 winners of Captain Hook and Cog awards include: Monsanto - Worst Corporate Offender- for patenting an Indian variety of soft milling wheat. Yang Mengjun - Worst Nanopiracy - for patenting nanoscale versions of over 400 Chinese herbal medicines. President Lula of Brazil - Worst Betrayal - for opening up the Amazon to GM crops and supporting Terminator Technology. Peruvian Coalition Against Biopiracy in the Andes - Best Peoples' Defense - for opposing patents on traditional Peruvian maca. Percy Schmeiser - Best Advocate - for fighting Monsanto through the courts after the Gene Giant sued him for patent infringement when, in reality, Monsanto's technology had contaminated his crops.

To see all previous winners check: www.captainhookawards.org/winners

How to nominate: Submit a brief description of the case with supporting documentation to: hook@captainhookawards.org or nominate online at www.captainhookawards.org/nominations

You may choose an existing category or create your own - be creative!

Nominators may remain anonymous.

Verified nominations will be posted at www.captainhookawards.org/
nominations

Nominations deadline: March 1st 2006 Award Ceremony: During the 8th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Curitiba, Brazil.

* Biopiracy refers to the monopolization (usually through intellectual property) of genetic resources and traditional knowledge or culture taken from Peoples or farming communities who have developed and nurtured those resources. Biopiracy includes bioprospecting, patents on nature (genes and molecules) and the trademarking of cultural knowledge.

The Captain Hook Awards is hosted by the Coalition Against Biopiracy (founders: SEARICE, Indigenous Peoples Biodiversity Network and ETC Group)