World Intellectual Property Organization Adopts Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge; WilmerHale, August 26, 2024

• • • Daniel S. Volchok, Thomas G. Saunders, Laura E. Powell, WilmerHale; World Intellectual Property Organization Adopts Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge

"Following nearly twenty-five years of negotiations, members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently adopted a treaty implementing the new requirement for international patent applicants to disclose in their applications any Indigenous Peoples and/or communities that provided traditional knowledge on which the applicant drew in creating the invention sought to be patented.1 The treaty was adopted at WIPO’s “Diplomatic Conference to Conclude an International Legal Instrument Relating to Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources,” which was held May 13–24.2 The goal of the treaty, known as the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, is to “prevent patents from being granted erroneously for inventions that are not novel or inventive with regard to genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.”3 This treaty—the first treaty of its kind, linking intellectual property and Indigenous Peoples—also aims to “enhance the efficacy, transparency and quality of the patent system with regard to genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.”4 

Once the treaty is ratified, patent applicants will have new (but nonretroactive) disclosure requirements for international patent applications."

Holy See welcomes ‘significant’ new treaty on intellectual property; Vatican News, July 10, 2024

 Joseph Tulloch, Vatican News ; Holy See welcomes ‘significant’ new treaty on intellectual property

"Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, has welcomed a historic new treaty on intellectual property.

In an address to members states of the UN's World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the Archbishop called the treaty a “significant step forward”.

The treaty

WIPO member states adopted the agreement – which regards “Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge – in May of this year.

The treaty establishes a new disclosure requirement in international law for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.

It was the first WIPO treaty in over a decade, as well as the first to evr deal with the genetic resources and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples."

WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Begins Work On Core Issues; Indigenous Peoples May Be Left Out; Intellectual Property Watch, August 27, 2018

Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch;

WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee Begins Work On Core Issues; Indigenous Peoples May Be Left Out

"The World Intellectual Property Organization’s committee seeking to find solutions against misappropriation of traditional knowledge opened this morning. While delegates are expected to negotiate wording of a potential treaty, the fund allowing indigenous peoples to participate in the discussions is empty with no foreseeable new donors, described by the chair as a historical situation. The committee is also trying to agree on recommendations for the upcoming WIPO General Assembly next month. On core issues, such as what the protection should cover, who would benefit from it, and under which conditions, delegates still have to find common positions."