PCT Highlights

WIPO Member States on 24 May 2024 approved a new Treaty related to intellectual property (IP), genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. It 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.
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With regard to implications for the PCT, please note that an Agreed Statement contained in Footnote 4 of the new Treaty (under Article 7) invites “to consider the need for amendments to the Regulations under the PCT and/or the Administrative Instructions thereunder with a view towards providing an opportunity for applicants who file an international application under the PCT designating a PCT Contracting State which, under its applicable national law, requires the disclosure of genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, to comply with any formality requirements related to such disclosure requirement either upon filing of the international application, with effect for all such Contracting States, or subsequently, upon entry into the national phase before an Office of any such Contracting States.” For more information, refer to PCT Newsletter 2024/06