School of Law

Event time: 12:00-13:00

Title: ‘A Critique of the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge and its Potential Ratification’

Abstract

On 24 May 2024, Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge. If the Treaty enters into force, contracting parties will have to implement a disclosure requirement in patent law, whereby patent applicants must disclose information on the source of any genetic resources, or traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, that their invention is based on. Patent offices then use this information to assess whether the claimed invention is new and inventive. Thirty years in the making, the Treaty has been lauded as a victory for Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC), who have long been fighting for the protection of their knowledge, resources and governance systems. Yet, the Treaty is lacking in many ways, ranging from limited sanctions on patentees if they fail to disclose correctly, to kowtowing to the interests of large corporate interests and the innovation rhetoric that underlies the patent system, and not in fact protecting the knowledge, resources or knowledge governance systems of IPLC.