Holy See grateful that human genetic resources are excluded from intellectual property treaty
July 18, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: At a meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a Vatican diplomat welcomed a new intellectual property treaty and expressed gratitude that human genetic resources were excluded from it.
“The Holy See welcomes the recent adoption by consensus of the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge,” said Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland. “This marks a success for multilateralism and represents a significant step forward in our collective endeavor to advance a dynamic forward-looking IP [intellectual property] system.”
After welcoming the treaty’s sensitivity to indigenous communities, the Vatican diplomat said that “God-given human dignity is the foundation of our coexistence and must remain the essential basis on which to build such accord. In this regard, the Holy See notes with appreciation the exclusion of human genetic resources from the scope of the treaty.”
The treaty, adopted in May, will take effect upon ratification by 15 nations.
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