Subject Matter of Protection

Article 1

Genetic Resources: all biological material that contains genetic information of value or
of real or potential use.

Native, Afro-American or Local Community: a human group whose social, cultural and
economic conditions distinguish it from other sectors of the national community, that is
governed totally or partially by its own customs or traditions or by special legislation and that,
irrespective of its legal status, conserves its own social, economic, cultural and political
institutions or a part of them.

Beneficiaries or Rightholders

Article 5

The Member Countries exercise sovereignty over their genetic resources and their
by-products and consequently determine the conditions for access to them, pursuant to the
provisions of this Decision.
The conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources and their by-products are
regulated by each Member Country in keeping with the principles and provisions of the
Biological Diversity Agreement and of this Decision.

Article 6

The genetic resources and their by-products which originated in the Member
Countries are goods belonging to or the heritage of the Nation or of the State in each Member
Country, as stipulated in their respective national legislation.
Those resources are inalienable, not subject to prescription and not subject to seizure or
similar measures, without detriment to the property regimes applicable to the biological
resources that contain those genetic resources, the land on which they are located or the
associated intangible component.

Article 7

The Member Countries, in keeping with this Decision and their complementary
national legislation, recognize and value the rights and the authority of the native, Afro-
American and local communities to decide about their Know-How, innovations and
traditional practices associated with genetic resources and their by-products.

Scope of Protection

Article 3

This Decision is applicable to genetic resources for which is the Member Countries
are the countries of origin, to their by-products, to their intangible components and to the
genetic resources of the migratory species that for natural reasons are found in the territories
of the Member Countries.

Exceptions and Limitations

Article 4

The following are excluded from the scope of this Decision:
(a) Human genetic resources and their by-products; and
(b) The exchange of genetic resources, their by-products, the biological resources
containing them, or their associated intangible components among native, Afro-American and
local communities of the Member Countries for their own consumption, based on their
customary practices.