Cultural IP Month 2026: Knowledge Drop on Genetic Resources and TK

The Journey to the WIPO Treaty on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge - a book by Wend Wendland

The first Knowledge Drop of Cultural IP Month 2026 is a must read book by Wend Wendland, former Director of the TK Division at the World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (WIPO).

In Wend’s words, this book is an insider’s account of the 25-year journey that culminated in the adoption, on May 24th 2024, of the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. It is extremely valuable to get an insight into the origins of this Treaty and the challenging journey that led to its adoption from someone with such experience and institutional memory.

When read carefully, this book offers many lessons. Things they don’t teach you in many law schools - yet.

Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® Founder Monica Boța Moisin and Wend Wendland in front of WIPO in Geneva during the 52nd meeting of the WIPO IGC

This is the first Intellectual Property (IP) treaty to refer to Indigenous Peoples as well as Local Communities.

The Treaty establishes an international requirement for patent applicants to disclose the country of origin or source of the genetic resources (GRs) and associated Traditional Knowledge (TK) for inventions which are based on GRs and associated TK. This requirement then becomes legally binding in the countries who accede to it or ratify it. As per Article 17 of the Treaty, the Treaty will enter into force three months after the 15th instrument of accession or ratification has been deposited.

Why is this important?

The Treaty is meant to support a more effective implementation of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) rules in relation to GRs and associated TK, prevent biopiracy and misappropriation. For this to happen, the Treaty must enter into force.

Malawi was the first nation to ratify the WIPO GRATK Treaty, followed by Albania and Uganda. Has your ratified the GRATK Treaty? You can check this information here.