Today, in a landmark decision, WIPO Member States adopted a Treaty on IP, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. This historic agreement concludes decades of negotiations that began at WIPO some 25 years ago.

This is the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between IP, genetic resources and traditional knowledge held by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

The Treaty will come into force once it reaches 15 contracting parties, and will establish a new disclosure of origin requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge used in their inventions.

ECTA closely followed these developments, and representatives of our association, Julien Scicluna (Secretary General) and Anna Ostanina (Head of Legal Affairs) attended the final stage negotiations during the Diplomatic Conference in Geneva from 13 to 24 May 2024.

To find our more, please consult the official press release here.