WIPO member states approved new treaty on intellectual property, genetic resources, and associated traditional knowledge

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states approved the historic treaty related to intellectual property, genetic resources, and associated traditional knowledge last Friday, May 24, 2024, at a diplomatic conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

According to the Organization, negotiations for this decision began in 2001 following a proposal presented by Colombia in 1999.

This is the first treaty of the Organization to address the relationship between intellectual property, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge, and also the first to include specific measures for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Overall, the treaty establishes that if an invention is based on genetic resources, each involved party will require applicants to disclose the country of origin or source of those resources. Likewise, if the claimed invention is based on traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, each involved party will require applicants to disclose the Indigenous Peoples or local community that provided that traditional knowledge.

Daren Tang, director of WIPO, celebrated the treaty, highlighting the importance of the intellectual property system in promoting innovation while evolving more inclusively to meet the needs of all countries and their communities.

For more information about the treaty, access the document at https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/gratk_dc/gratk_dc_7.pdf

Read the full article at: https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2024/article_0007.html