WIPO member states adopted, on May 24, a groundbreaking Treaty relating to intellectual property (IP), genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, marking a historic breakthrough that capped decades of negotiations. The treaty was adopted at 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 Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) from May 13 to 24, 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The President of the Diplomatic Conference, Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Brazil’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization, brought dowm the gavel to mark consensus approval of the new WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. Delegates present at the May 13 to 24, 2024 final stage negotiations cheered and applauded the successful outcome.

This is the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge and the first WIPO Treaty to include provisions specifically for Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.

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

Negotiations for this Treaty began in 2001, initiated in 1999 with a proposal by Colombia, where discussions were notable for their inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang welcomed adoption of the Treaty and congratulated negotiators on the successful outcome of the Diplomatic Conference, noting: “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. Through this, we are showing that the IP system can continue to incentivize innovation while evolving in a more inclusive way, responding to the needs of all countries and their communities.”

Mr. Tang added: “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. I thank all the negotiators, past and present, who worked tirelessly to make history today.”

Ambassador Patriota called the new Treaty “a very carefully balanced outcome of this Diplomatic 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.”

Given that the Republic of Moldova is this year the coordinator of the Central European and Baltic States Regional Group (CEBS Group) within WIPO, the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Moldova at the UN Office in Geneva, in collaboration with the State Agency on Intellectual Property, played an active role in the process of negotiating the content of the text of the international legal instrument, adopted during the Diplomatic Conference.