Following 11 days of intense negotiations, the treaty was finally ratified in the final round of negotiations attended by 193 WIPO member countries as well as representatives of Indigenous People and Local Communities.
The treaty itself is a new legal regulation in the international world regarding transparency and protection of the global patent system.
"The global patent system will experience increased transparency with the obligation for each country to disclose patents globally," the Indonesian Permanent Representative (PTRI) to the UN, WTO, and other international organizations in Geneva, Febrian Ruddyard, noted in a written statement from PTRI Geneva, Monday.
He emphasized that this success could not be separated from Indonesia's important role in the negotiation process as coordinator of a group of Like-Minded Countries (LMCs).
He also remarked that the negotiations, underway for the last 24 years, were primarily for the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge that were closely related to Indonesia's interests, including for indigenous people in the country.
With the treaty, Indonesia and countries that have intellectual property, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge will gain several important benefits, with the first being transparency.
Furthermore, the treaty regulates the sanctions mechanism that will increase the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge.
The treaty will encourage the standardization and harmonization of global regulations and protect local wisdom.
"This treaty opens up opportunities to advance other issues related to traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions," PTRI Geneva stated.
After closing the negotiations, the Final Act was signed as a meeting report that became the basis for the next steps to finalize the agreement that is planned in the form of a signing at the WIPO General Assembly in Geneva in July 2024.
PTRI Geneva's Chargé d'Affaires Ad Interim, Achsanul Habib, delivered a statement emphasizing that the agreement is a victory for all parties and is a strong signal that multilateralism should continue to be put forward.
Habib conveyed the statement while giving the closing remarks, representing more than 60 LMCs.
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Translator: Yashinta Difa Pramudyani, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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