WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge

GRATK anti-biopiracy Treaty

WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge
View of the podium during the Preparatory Committee held ahead of the GRATK Diplomatic Conference (December 2023).
Drafted	2010 – 2024
Signed	24 May 2024 (2024-05-24)
Location	WIPO headquarters, Geneva
Condition	Three months after 15 ratifications or accessions
Signatories	30 States  Algeria  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Brazil  Burkina Faso  Central African Republic  Chile  Colombia  Congo  Cote d'Ivoire  Eswatini  Ghana  North Korea  Lesotho  Madagascar  Malawi  Marshall Islands  Morocco  Namibia  Nicaragua  Niger  Nigeria  Niue  Paraguay  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  São Tomé and Príncipe  Senegal  South Africa  Tanzania  Uruguay  Vanuatu
Depositary	WIPO
Languages	English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian

The WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge^[1] or GRATK Treaty is an international legal instrument to combat biopiracy^[2] through disclosure requirements for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.^[3]

The treaty was concluded at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 24 May 2024,^[4] after more than two decades^[5] of previous developments by WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC).^[6]

The treaty was deemed "historic in many regards"^[7] by some observers, qualified by the Indigenous Caucus^[8] as a "first step towards guaranteeing just and transparent access to these resources."^[9]

The IGC was established in 2001 by the General Assembly of WIPO.^[10][11]

Since 2010, the mandate of the IGC has remained that of concluding a consensual text which would bridge the gaps between the numerous existing international legal instruments provide some, but insufficient protection on either traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, or genetic resources (UNDRIP, Convention on Biological Diversity, Nagoya Protocol, FAO plant treaty, UNESCO conventions on culture and intangible heritage, etc.), none of which include explicit protections for indigenous peoples and local communities.^[12][13]

IGC's negotiations were suspended in 2020 because of the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, and resumed in 2022.^[13]

In 2022, the IGC agreed to move on to the next steps of treaty negotiation, and WIPO agreed to convene a Diplomatic Conference by 2024 to consider a draft treaty that the Committee had been working on.^[14]

The selection of the draft text that had to serve as a basis for the negotiations of the final text of the treaty received some criticism from civil society observers.^[15][16] The 2022 WIPO General Assembly decided that a short version of the draft (the "Chair's text") which had been drafted by Australian ambassador Ian Gross, Chair of the IGC in 2019, would be the basis for the treaty's negotiations. Prior to that decision, the text which was expected to be used as basis for the negotiations was the "Consolidated text", a more comprehensive document on which IGC Member States had been working on by consensus during years.^[15]

Contrary to the Consolidated text which addressed traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions as such, and different forms of intellectual property, the Chair's text focused only on genetic resources and the patent system.^[17]

In August 2023, India submitted a proposal with a series of amendments to the Chair’s text, aiming to add back some elements from the Consolidated text in the discussion.

Ahead of the Diplomatic Conference, two extraordinary meetings were convened to prepare the Conference:

• Special Session of the IGC (4–8 September 2023)
• Preparatory Committee of the Diplomatic Conference (11–13 September, and 13 December 2023).

The Special Session which took place from 4 to 8 September 2023, reviewed part of the Chair's text containing substantive articles. The Preparatory Committee which was held the week after, addressed administrative and procedural parts of the draft.^[18] Jointly, these two meetings yielded a revised draft, which serves as the basis for the 2024 Diplomatic Conference discussions.

The Preparatory Committee also adopted Draft Rules of Procedure for the Diplomatic Conference, as well as a List of Invitees. On 13 September 2023, the committee had to suspend its session due to the absence of submission by Member States of proposals to host the Diplomatic Conference. On 13 December, the committee reconvened to adopt a decision to hold the Diplomatic Conference at WIPO's headquarters in Geneva, facing the lack of alternative proposals.^[19]

As explained on the website of the Diplomatic Conference:

On July 21, 2022, the WIPO General Assembly decided to convene a Diplomatic Conference to conclude an International Legal Instrument Relating to Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources no later than 2024.^[20]

The Diplomatic Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland, between 13 and 24 May 2024.^[19] During the Conference, the draft resulting from the Special Session and Preparatory Committee was discussed and amended.

The final legal instrument, the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (often referred to by its acronym "GRATK"^[5][21]) was adopted in the night^[22] of Thursday 23 to Friday 24 May 2024, and opened for signature the 24 May in the afternoon, at the WIPO headquarter in Geneva.^[2]

This 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. The Treaty, once it enters into force with 15 contracting parties, will establish in international law a new disclosure requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.^[23]

The Treaty was concluded on 24 May 2024 and immediately opened for signature. Under the Treaty's Article 16, it is stated that the Treaty will be "open for signature at the Diplomatic Conference in Geneva and thereafter […] for one year after its adoption."^[1]

At the closing of the Diplomatic Conference, on 24 May 2024, the Treaty was signed by 30 countries: Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Korea, Paraguay, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Vanuatu.^[5]

Under Article 17, the Treaty is planned to enter into force 3 months after ratification or accession by 15 countries.

Signature, ratification and accession is open to any Member State of the WIPO, under the Treaty's Article 12. Countries that sign the Treaty within the first year period (until 24 May 2025) have to further ratify it in order for the Treaty to enter into force. Countries deciding to join after the initial one-year period will join through "adhesion" (equivalent to both signature and ratification).

Accessions to the GRATK Treaty

WIPO Member States	Accession Process No. 1		Accession Process No. 2
	Signature	Ratification	Adhesion
Algeria	24 May 2024		n/a
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central African Republic
Chile
Colombia
Congo
Cote d'Ivoire
Eswatini
Ghana
North Korea
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Marshall Islands
Morocco
Namibia
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Paraguay
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
South Africa
Tanzania
Uruguay
Vanuatu

• World Intellectual Property Organization – Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore
• Biopiracy –– Bioprospecting
• Patents –– Patent Law Treaty –– Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Nagoya Protocol –– High Seas Treaty
• UNDRIP –– UNDROP

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This page was last edited on 19 August 2024, at 08:36