The GRATK Treaty establishes the first international patent disclosure requirements for inventions based on genetic resources and traditional knowledge, aiming to curb biopiracy.
Key Facts
- Date concluded
- 24 May 2024
- Concluding body
- WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
- Negotiation duration
- More than two decades of prior WIPO IGC development
- Adoption method
- Adopted by consensus
- Primary beneficiaries
- Developing countries and Indigenous Peoples
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Over more than two decades, WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore worked to address systemic gaps in the patent system that allowed biopiracy — the exploitation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge without fair attribution, consent, or benefit-sharing with source communities.
On 24 May 2024, the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK Treaty) was concluded by consensus at WIPO headquarters in Geneva. The treaty requires patent applicants whose inventions draw on genetic resources or associated traditional knowledge to disclose that origin, improving patent quality and transparency.
The treaty was broadly welcomed by developing countries and Indigenous Peoples as a meaningful step toward protecting traditional knowledge, though several developed countries and industry associations expressed opposition. It represents the first binding international instrument linking patent disclosure obligations to genetic resource use and access-and-benefit-sharing frameworks.
Political Outcome
Treaty adopted by consensus; establishes mandatory patent disclosure requirements for inventions based on genetic resources and traditional knowledge to combat biopiracy
No binding international patent disclosure rules for genetic resources or traditional knowledge
International legal obligation for patent applicants to disclose genetic resource and traditional knowledge origins