Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted a new treaty addressing the interface between intellectual property (IP), genetic resources, and traditional knowledge. The treaty establishes a disclosure requirement for patent applicants who base their inventions on genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

The Diplomatic Conference on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge adopted the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge on 24 May 2024, concluding lengthy negotiations that began at WIPO in 2001.

“This agreement by consensus is not just the culmination of a 25 year negotiating journey, but also a strong signal that multilateralism is alive and well at WIPO,” said WIPO Director General Daren Tang, welcoming the treaty’s adoption.

According to a WIPO explainer, “where a claimed invention in a patent application is based on genetic resources, each contracting party shall require applicants to disclose the country of origin or source of the genetic resources.” “Where the claimed invention in a patent application is based on traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, each contracting party shall require applicants to disclose the Indigenous Peoples or local community, as applicable, who provided the traditional knowledge,” it notes.

The treaty will enter into force three months after 15 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.

Genetic resources and related traditional knowledge and other issues are also being addressed in other international frameworks and processes, including:

• The Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group to Enhance the Functioning of the Multilateral System (MLS) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA);
• The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), under the goals and targets on benefit-sharing from the use of genetic resources and digital sequence information (DSI);
• A multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of DSI, established in 2022 at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference; and
• The new BBNJ Agreement, which contains provisions on benefit-sharing, marine genetic resources, and DSI.

Ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) seek to establish a multilateral ABS system for pathogens with pandemic potential and their DSI/genetic sequence data (GSD).

The Diplomatic Conference on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge convened in Geneva, Switzerland, from 13-24 May 2024. [WIPO Press Release] [UN News Story]