UN intellectual property agency approves first global treaty on intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge – JURIST

Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) approved a groundbreaking new treaty relating to intellectual property, genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge on Friday at a diplomatic conference in Geneva.

The objective of this Treaty is to enhance the efficacy, transparency and quality of the patent system, and prevent patents from being granted “erroneously” for inventions that are not novel or inventive regarding genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.

Intellectual property (IP), refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, and is protected in law by patents, copyright and trademarks. This enables people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. For the protection and promotion of IP across the world, WIPO was established pursuant to the 1967 Convention and became a specialized UN agency.

The negotiation for the new Treaty was initiated in 1999 with a proposal by Colombia and began at WIPO in 2001, where discussions were notable for their inclusion of indigenous peoples as well as local communities. The approval on Friday by consensus of 193 WIPO member states marked the climax of the 25 years negotiation process. As the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge, including provisions specifically for protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, it was touted as a “historic breakthrough.”

Daren Tang, the agency’s Director-General, stated that the agreement strongly indicated “that multilateralism is alive and well at WIPO.” Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, president of the Diplomatic Conference adopting the Treaty, highlighted that the new Treaty is “a very carefully balanced outcome” of the Conference. “It constitutes the best possible compromise and a carefully calibrated solution, which seeks to bridge and to balance a variety of interests, some very passionately held and assiduously expressed and defended over the course of decades,” he said.

According to the new Treaty, 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.

Genetic and other biological resources, usually found in entities such as medicinal plants and agricultural crops, are often utilized in patented inventions, although they themselves cannot be patented. They constitute unique subject matter for IP protection ever since IP systems began to protect innovation in the modern life sciences, as early as the mid-1970s.

Traditional knowledge refers to the knowledge, know-how, skills and practices that are developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity. It is associated with genetic resources conserved and used by indigenous peoples and local communities, playing a crucial role in scientific research and the development of new inventions. Hence, many indigenous peoples, local communities and governments seek IP protection for traditional knowledge as intangible assets.

Once the new Treaty enters into force with 15 contracting parties, it will establish in international law a new disclosure requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge. “Today we made history in many ways. This is not just the first new WIPO Treaty in over a decade but also the first one that deals with genetic resources and traditional knowledge held by Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities,” said Tang.