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WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge
The WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge or GRATK Treaty is an international legal instrument to combat biopiracy through disclosure requirements for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.
The treaty was concluded at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 24 May 2024, after more than two decades of previous developments by WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC).
The treaty was deemed "historic in many regards" by some observers, qualified by the Indigenous Caucus as a "first step towards guaranteeing just and transparent access to these resources."
The IGC was established in 2001 by the General Assembly of WIPO.
Since 2010, the mandate of the IGC has remained that of concluding a consensual text which would bridge the gaps between the numerous existing international legal instruments provide some, but insufficient protection on either traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, or genetic resources (UNDRIP, Convention on Biological Diversity, Nagoya Protocol, FAO plant treaty, UNESCO conventions on culture and intangible heritage, etc.), none of which include explicit protections for indigenous peoples and local communities.
IGC's negotiations were suspended in 2020 because of the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, and resumed in 2022.
In 2022, the IGC agreed to move on to the next steps of treaty negotiation, and WIPO agreed to convene a Diplomatic Conference by 2024 to consider a draft treaty that the Committee had been working on.
The selection of the draft text that had to serve as a basis for the negotiations of the final text of the treaty received some criticism from civil society observers. The 2022 WIPO General Assembly decided that a short version of the draft (the "Chair's text") which had been drafted by Australian ambassador Ian Gross, Chair of the IGC in 2019, would be the basis for the treaty's negotiations. Prior to that decision, the text which was expected to be used as basis for the negotiations was the "Consolidated text", a more comprehensive document on which IGC Member States had been working on by consensus during years.
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WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge
The WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge or GRATK Treaty is an international legal instrument to combat biopiracy through disclosure requirements for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.
The treaty was concluded at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 24 May 2024, after more than two decades of previous developments by WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC).
The treaty was deemed "historic in many regards" by some observers, qualified by the Indigenous Caucus as a "first step towards guaranteeing just and transparent access to these resources."
The IGC was established in 2001 by the General Assembly of WIPO.
Since 2010, the mandate of the IGC has remained that of concluding a consensual text which would bridge the gaps between the numerous existing international legal instruments provide some, but insufficient protection on either traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, or genetic resources (UNDRIP, Convention on Biological Diversity, Nagoya Protocol, FAO plant treaty, UNESCO conventions on culture and intangible heritage, etc.), none of which include explicit protections for indigenous peoples and local communities.
IGC's negotiations were suspended in 2020 because of the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, and resumed in 2022.
In 2022, the IGC agreed to move on to the next steps of treaty negotiation, and WIPO agreed to convene a Diplomatic Conference by 2024 to consider a draft treaty that the Committee had been working on.
The selection of the draft text that had to serve as a basis for the negotiations of the final text of the treaty received some criticism from civil society observers. The 2022 WIPO General Assembly decided that a short version of the draft (the "Chair's text") which had been drafted by Australian ambassador Ian Gross, Chair of the IGC in 2019, would be the basis for the treaty's negotiations. Prior to that decision, the text which was expected to be used as basis for the negotiations was the "Consolidated text", a more comprehensive document on which IGC Member States had been working on by consensus during years.