UN adopts new treaty on intellectual property, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge

New Delhi [India], May 26 : After decades of negotiations, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an arm of the United Nations, has finally adopted a new treaty on intellectual property, genetic resources, and associated traditional knowledge.

WIPO is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN) that works to promote and protect intellectual property (IP) across the world by cooperating with countries as well as international organizations.

India also lauded the efforts of member states by recognising the efforts of the UN body.

"India congratulated member states on fostering robust discussions and creating an equitable framework that respects all parties involved at the WIPO Diplomatic Conference on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge," the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said in a post on X.

India also praised Daren Tang, DG, WIPO, and his team for the meticulous preparation and conduct of the conference.

The recently concluded treaty 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 UN arm said in a blog post.

The treaty will bind member countries to establish an international law to disclose patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge, as per the blog post.

India has long been in dispute with countries and patent rights organizations because of the patent rights of Indian products awarded to foreign entities.

The patent rights of turmeric, a tropical herb grown in east India and widely used as a medicine and food ingredient, among other uses, were awarded to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1995 for its wound-healing property by the United States. Two years later, India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research challenged the university regarding the novelty of the discovery. The USPTO cancelled the patent due to a lack of novelty.

In another case, patent rights of Indian Basmati rice were granted to a Texan company in the USA, to which India objected and the USPTO accepted the petition.

Neem is another example on which an application was filed by the USA with the European Patent Office. A legal opposition has been filed by India against the grant of the patent. In this matter, the EPO revoked the patent application citing the lack of novelty and inventive steps, among others.

After repeated objections from India on moves to patent its traditionally known natural products, EPO decided to check with the country's database that lists traditionally known drug formulations before granting patent rights.

In addition, the National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources has created the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) which contains over 24 million-page searchable databases that translate text from Sanskrit into English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese.

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