Policy Brief – Next Steps for Genetic Resources and Innovation? The WIPO Treaty and BBNJ Agreement Interface

At the second meeting of the “Working Group on Benefit-sharing from the Use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources” (WGDSI-2) which is taking place this week, 12 -16 August 2024 in Montreal, Canada, MARBLES and BlueRemediomics partner University of Aberdeen (UNIABDN) will be sharing their latest policy brief draft.

Genetic resources are crucial for scientific innovation and development since they can generate valuable new products and knowledge. However, how the use of genetic resources should be regulated has been debated by countries, industries, scientists, and international policymakers for over 20 years. Key issues are approaches to misappropriation of resources and existing knowledge; rewarding innovation and investment; encouraging open science; how benefits which arise from innovation might be shared and the extent to which this should be linked with questions of access to resources and tracing subsequent use.

This draft policy brief “Next steps for genetic resources and innovation? The WIPO Treaty and BBNJ Agreement interface” summarises the developments and key outcomes to date while making suggestions that could inform future choices by states regarding access and benefit sharing (ABS), intellectual property (IP), Digital Sequence Information (DSI) and the intersections between systems.

The focus of this policy brief is on developments at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) regarding disclosure of origin of genetic resources on which patent applications are based (WIPO Treaty), and on the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement).

This draft policy brief will be presented this week at WGDSI-2. More exciting developments to come as we finalise this brief so be sure to check back for updates to keep informed!