WIPO Member States Adopt Historic New Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge

Transcript

It is so decided. We made history today. For the first time in over a decade, we have a new WIPO treaty,  the 27th WIPO treaty. For the first time, systems of knowledge and wisdom that supported economies, societies and cultures for centuries are now inscribed into the global IP system. For the first time, the connection between Indigenous Peoples, local communities and their genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge is recognized by the global IP community.  These are historic achievements, long championed by many Member States and that will safeguard wisdom, protect biodiversity, while at the same time increasing transparency in the patent system and strengthening innovation. And it's about showing that multilateralism, imperfect as it is, is still the most important platform for us as a global community to change the world together. It has been 25 years in the making, and today comes into being at a time when multilateralism faces considerable challenges. For decades, in some cases centuries, Indigenous Peoples and local communities from around the world have been claiming for the recognition of their rights and their contribution to innovation through genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. In this long journey, some have feared a dogmatic incompatibility between the IP system as we know it and the indigenous cosmovision, based on collective principles. With the new WIPO treaty, we were able to reconcile both worlds by establishing in the international patent regime a mandatory disclosure requirement on access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

What is the WIPO instrument on Genetic Resources and Associated TK

What’s it all about? On the WIPO Diplomatic Conference on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge.