US Statement to 48th WIPO General Assemblies on IGC on genetic resources, traditional knowledges and folklore

The US thanks the DDG for his report. As he noted, at the last GA, we agreed to the renewal of the mandate of the IGC and “to undertake text-based negotiations with the objective of reaching agreement on a text of an international legal instrument (or instruments) which will ensure the effective protection of GRs, TK and TCEs.”

The decision to enter into text-based negotiations, however, does not suggest that US red-lines regarding the substantive issues have been altered.

The US remains concerned that any such instrument could have detrimental effects on American creative industries, technological innovation and the public domain.

The US believes that, if we are to reach agreement on any type of document, these concerns can and must be addressed through properly limiting the scope of protection and establishing appropriately broad exceptions and limitations to any new forms of protection. Otherwise, the US believes that any proposed regime for the protection of TCE, TK and/or GR will be unworkable.

In the case of genetic resources, the US believes that the IGC has not sufficiently formulated clear objectives for the protection of genetic resources and that no judgment can be made on the need or appropriateness of such protection.

Nonetheless, the US recognizes that steps should be taken to improve the challenging environment that has engulfed IP issues at WIPO. The US sees meaningful, but appropriate and limited progress in the IGC as one possible way to do that.