The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty on intellectual property, genetic resources, and associated traditional knowledge represents a notable victory for countries in the global South, particularly India. India, being a mega biodiversity hotspot abundant in traditional knowledge and wisdom, stands to benefit significantly from this development.

For the first time, the global intellectual property (IP) system has incorporated the systems of knowledge and wisdom that have sustained economies, societies, and cultures for centuries.

This marks a historic moment where the connection between local communities and their genetic resources (GRs) and associated traditional knowledge (ATK) is acknowledged within the global IP community. These achievements have long been advocated by India, renowned as a provider of traditional knowledge and wisdom and a custodian of biodiversity.

The treaty not only serves to safeguard and protect biodiversity but also enhances transparency in the patent system and promotes innovation. Through this, the IP system can continue to incentivise innovation while adapting in a more inclusive manner, addressing the needs of all countries and their communities.

The treaty represents a significant victory for India and the global South, which have long advocated for its adoption. After two decades of negotiations and with collective support, the treaty has been adopted at multilateral fora, garnering consensus among more than 150 countries.

With the majority of developed countries on board, who generate IP and utilise these resources and knowledge for research and innovation, this treaty lays the groundwork for bridging conflicting paradigms within the IP system and the protection of biodiversity that have persisted for decades.

The treaty mandates contracting parties to establish mandatory disclosure obligations for patent applicants, requiring them to disclose the country of origin or source of genetic resources when the claimed invention is based on genetic resources or associated traditional knowledge.

This provision will provide added protection to Indian genetic resources and traditional knowledge, which, while currently safeguarded in India, are vulnerable to misappropriation in countries lacking disclosure obligations. By establishing global standards on disclosure of origin obligations, this treaty creates an unprecedented framework within the IP system for provider countries of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Currently, only 35 countries have implemented some form of disclosure obligations, the majority of which are not mandatory and lack appropriate sanctions or remedies for effective implementation. This treaty will compel contracting parties, including the developed world, to amend their existing legal frameworks to enforce disclosure of origin obligations on patent applicants.

The treaty heralds the beginning of a journey towards achieving collective growth and fulfilling the promise of a sustainable future, a cause that India has championed for centuries.

Image source: ANI