Patents, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge: the WIPO treaty and the global access and benefit-sharing regime complex

ABSTRACT The WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK Treaty) represents a significant doctrinal development in international intellectual property (IP) law. It introduces a mandatory disclosure requirement obliging patent applicants to indicate the origin or source of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge on which claimed inventions are based. This article situates the GRATK Treaty within the global access and benefit-sharing (ABS) regime complex, examining its interaction with the Convention on Biological Diversity and Nagoya Protocol. It argues that the Treaty constitutes a path-dependent yet normatively consequential response to the problem of biopiracy, strengthening procedural transparency within the patent system while maintaining coherence with existing international legal regimes. By analyzing its disclosure, sanctions, mutual supportiveness, and institutional provisions, the article demonstrates that the GRATK Treaty consolidates the benefit appropriation sub-regime despite not creating any new IP rights. Although its effectiveness will depend on ratification and implementation by major patent jurisdictions, the Treaty marks an incremental but important step toward reconciling IP governance with core elements of the global ABS regime.