The Director General of the State Agency fon Intellectual Property (AGEPI), Eugeniu Rusu, participated in the opening of the Diplomatic Conference to Conclude an International Legal Instrument Relating to Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources (Diplomatic Conference), organized by the World Organization of Intellectual Property (WIPO) from 13 to 24 May 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Diplomatic Conference is the final stage of negotiations before the adoption of the international legal instrument, which aims to increase the efficiency, transparency and quality of the patent system, as well as prevent the erroneous granting of patents for invention that are not new to genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated genetic resources.

Some 1,200 delegates - including government Ministers, heads of intellectual property offices, - observers and other stakeholders from across the globe joined the Diplomatic Conference, which will cap decades-long negotiations among WIPO member states on the subject. WIPO currently administers 26 treaties, including the foundational documents of the global intellectual property (IP) system dating back to the late 19th century. The most-recent high-level negotiation at WIPO occurred nearly a decade ago.

In a speech welcoming the delegates, WIPO Director General Daren Tang underlined the historic nature of the negotiations and said: “At this Diplomatic Conference, we can show that there is no contradiction between a robust and predictable IP regime – one that incentivizes innovation, attracts investment and drives game-changing research – and one that responds to the needs of all countries and their communities everywhere, including those from Indigenous Peoples as well as from Local Communities. A more inclusive and diverse IP system is not just a more dynamic IP system, it is a stronger IP system”.

Member States elected His Excellency Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Brazil to the World Trade Organization and other Economic Organizations in Geneva, as President of the Diplomatic Conference.

Given that the Republic of Moldova is this year the coordinator of the Central European and Baltic States Regional Group (CEBS Group) within the WIPO, of which our country is also a part, the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Moldova to the UN Office in Geneva, in collaboration with the State Agency on Intellectual Property, plays an active role in the process of negotiating the content of the text of the international legal instrument, which will be discussed and adopted during the Diplomatic Conference. Moreover, in the opening of the Diplomatic Conference, the representatives of the Republic of Moldova presented the statement on behalf of the CEBS Group.

What are genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge?

Genetic resources are contained in, for example, medicinal plants, agricultural crops, and animal breeds. While genetic resources themselves cannot be directly protected as intellectual property, inventions developed using them can, most often, be protected through a patent. Some genetic resources are also associated with traditional knowledge through their use and conservation by Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities, often over generations. This knowledge is sometimes used in scientific research and, as such, may contribute to the development of a protected invention.

The Draft Agenda, as well as the Draft Rules of Procedure of the Diplomatic Conference can be accessed at the link: https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=81190.