```

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5827-5828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01092]

[[Page 5827]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Patent and Trademark Office

[Docket No.: PTO-C-2024-0049]

Tribal Consultation on the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, 
Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Tribal Consultation and request for written comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 
Department of Commerce, announces a Tribal Consultation, and requests 
written comments, regarding the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO) Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources 
(GRs) and Associated Traditional Knowledge (ATK) (hereinafter, the 
``Treaty'') adopted by WIPO Member States in Geneva, Switzerland on May 
24, 2024. The Tribal Consultation will consist of virtual webinars and 
a request for written comments on whether the United States should sign 
and implement the Treaty and any impacts of taking those actions. For 
purposes of this Notice, the words ``Tribe'' or ``Tribes'' are intended 
to refer to Tribal Nations, State recognized Tribes, other Tribes, and 
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

DATES: 
    Webinar Dates: The two virtual webinars for federally recognized 
Tribal Nations and their proxies will be held on Tuesday, March 18 and 
Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (eastern). The virtual 
webinar for the Native Hawaiian Community, their representatives and 
organizations, and other Pacific Islanders will be held on Thursday, 
March 27, 2025, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (eastern). The virtual webinar for 
State and non-recognized Tribes, and Tribal and inter-Tribal 
organizations, including organizations that represent Indigenous 
Peoples based in the United States, will be held on Friday, March 28, 
2025, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (eastern).
    Written Comment Deadline: Written comments on the questions in this 
Notice must be received by Monday, April 28, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Webinar Registration Address: Please register in advance to 
participate in one of these webinars at: https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/tribal-consultations-genetic-resources-traditional-knowledge-and-traditional-cultural. After registering, you will receive a 
confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If 
you are unable to join via the platform, a call-in number also will be 
provided. The registration links are not the same for each webinar.
    Written Comments Address: Written comments may be submitted by 
email to: [email protected]. Please use the 
heading ``WIPO GRATK TREATY TRIBAL CONSULTATION 2025'' in the subject 
line. Please note: Tribes must submit written comments responsive to 
the issues raised in this Notice and/or the public FRN by Monday, April 
28, 2025.
    If electronic submission of comments is not feasible, please submit 
comments by First-Class Mail or Priority Mail to: Susan Anthony, Tribal 
Affairs Liaison, Mail Stop OPIA, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. 
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22314-1450.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Anthony, Tribal Affairs Liaison, 
Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA), USPTO, at 
[email protected] or 571-272-8459. Please direct media inquiries 
to the USPTO's Office of the Chief Communications Officer at 571-272-
8400. These webinars are closed to the media.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: WIPO is a specialized United Nations agency 
based in Geneva, Switzerland, that focuses on intellectual property. 
Established in September 2000, the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee 
(IGC) \1\ serves as a forum where WIPO Member States \2\ and accredited 
observers can discuss and address the intellectual property issues that 
arise in the context of access to GRs as well as the protection of 
traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). 
The IGC operates in accordance with a mandate \3\ determined by the 
WIPO General Assembly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ More information on the IGC may be found at: www.wipo.int/tk/en/igc. In particular, the current ``IGC Mandate'', covering the 
biennium 2024/2025, may be found at: https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/tk/en/igc/docs/igc-mandate-2024-2025.pdf
    \2\ WIPO currently has 193 Member States (www.wipo.int/members/en/).
    \3\ The current ``IGC Mandate'', covering the biennium 2024/
2025, may be found at: https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/tk/en/igc/docs/igc-mandate-2024-2025.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At its Fifty-Fifth (30th Extraordinary) Session, held in Geneva on 
July 14-22, 2022, the WIPO General Assembly decided to convene a 
diplomatic conference to conclude an International Legal Instrument 
Relating to Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Traditional 
Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources.
    The diplomatic conference occurred on May 13-24, 2024, at WIPO 
Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. On May 24, 2024, WIPO Member 
States adopted the Treaty. The text of the adopted Treaty is different 
in several respects from the proposed text \4\ that served as the 
starting point for negotiations at the diplomatic conference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ That text (known as the ``Basic Proposal'') may be found at: 
https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/gratk_dc/gratk_dc_3.pdf. In 
October 2023, following a Special Session and Preparatory Committee 
meeting of the IGC, the USPTO requested comments on draft text that 
subsequently became the ``Basic Proposal'' of the diplomatic 
conference (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/10/24/2023-23387/wipo-igc-negotiations-on-genetic-resources-and-associated-traditional-knowledge). Tribal input received by the 
USPTO helped inform positions taken by the United States at the 
diplomatic conference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Article 3 of the Treaty mandates that patent applicants disclose 
the origin/source of a GR, or associated traditional knowledge (ATK) 
provided by Indigenous Peoples or local communities, in certain 
circumstances. In particular, the disclosure requirement is triggered 
where a claimed invention is ``based on'' a GR or ATK, which requires 
satisfaction of a two-part test: (1) the GR or ATK ``must have been 
necessary for the claimed invention''; and (2) ``the claimed invention 
must depend on the specific properties of'' the GR or ATK. Among its 22 
articles, the Treaty covers several other topics, including treaty 
objectives, definitions, exceptions and limitations, non-retroactivity, 
sanctions and remedies for noncompliance, relationship with other 
international agreements, and review and potential revision of Treaty 
text.
    For additional context, the text of the Treaty can be found on the 
WIPO website at: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/gratk_dc/gratk_dc_7.pdf. WIPO's ``informal summary'' of the Treaty can be found 
at: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/gratk_dc/gratk_dc_exsum.pdf.
    The Treaty is open for signature by any eligible Member State of 
WIPO for one year after its adoption (i.e., up to May 23, 2025).\5\ The 
act of signing does

[[Page 5828]]

not make a Member State a party to (i.e., bound by) the Treaty. Rather, 
signing qualifies the signatory Member State to proceed to 
ratification, acceptance, or approval and creates an obligation for the 
Member State to refrain from acts that would defeat the object and 
purpose of the Treaty.\6\ To become a party to the Treaty, a Member 
State must undertake a separate step of ratification or accession.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ According to WIPO, as of December 5, 2024, 38 delegations 
had signed the Treaty: Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, 
Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, 
Congo, C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 
Dominican Republic, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Indonesia, Lesotho, 
Madagascar, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, 
Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, 
United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe. 
(https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/docs/pdf/gratk.pdf).
    \6\ See, e.g., Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of 
Treaties (https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/1_1_1969.pdf).
    \7\ See WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources 
and Associated Traditional Knowledge, Articles 12-13, 18 (https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/gratk_dc/gratk_dc_7.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Treaty will enter into force three months after it is ratified 
or acceded to by 15 Contracting Parties. \8\ Thereafter, Treaty 
provisions will apply in any Member State of WIPO that is or 
subsequently becomes a Contracting Party to the Treaty. This means, for 
example, that the Treaty's required disclosure of the origin/source of 
GRs/ATK will apply to all patent applicants who file an application in 
a Contracting Party, including those applicants who come from countries 
that have not ratified or acceded to the Treaty.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ According to WIPO, as of December 5, 2024, only Malawi had 
ratified or acceded to the Treaty.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Within the U.S. Government, the USPTO, based on authority delegated 
by the U.S. Department of State, takes the lead in the WIPO IGC among 
other Federal agencies and coordinates and develops U.S. positions on 
issues before the WIPO IGC.

Request for Information

    The USPTO welcomes Tribal input on any issues relevant to this 
Notice and is particularly interested in comments responsive to the 
questions below. The USPTO also has issued in this issue of the Federal 
Register a notice entitled, ``Request for Comments and Testimony on the 
WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated 
Traditional Knowledge,'' which is directed to the general public 
(``public FRN''). Tribes may also provide comments responsive to the 
questions or participate in the public hearing described in the USPTO's 
public FRN regarding the Treaty.

Questions for Comment

    When submitting written comments, please identify yourself and 
either your Tribal Government, or that you are a Native Hawaiian or 
other Pacific Islander. If you are a representative, please identify 
yourself and for whom you are speaking. Commenters need not respond to 
every question and may provide relevant information, even if not 
responsive to a particular question.
    1. In your view, should the United States sign and become a party 
to the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and 
Associated Traditional Knowledge? In your response, please identify and 
explain your reasons in detail, including legal, policy, and any other 
considerations.
    2. In your view, please explain whether the Treaty is consistent or 
inconsistent with existing U.S. law, including tribal treaties and 
other federal law. In your response, please explain your legal 
reasoning and identify the provisions of the Treaty that are consistent 
or inconsistent with U.S. law.
    3. If, in your view, the Treaty is inconsistent with existing U.S. 
law, please identify and explain the change(s) to U.S. law necessary 
for compliance with the Treaty. In doing so, please describe any 
impacts of adopting such change(s).
    4. In your view, please explain whether the Treaty is consistent or 
inconsistent with existing U.S. international obligations, including 
treaties, free trade agreements, and other international agreement(s). 
In your response, please explain your legal reasoning and identify the 
provision(s) of the Treaty that are consistent or inconsistent with 
specific U.S. international obligations.
    5. Please indicate whether and, if so, how GRs and ATK may be 
protected by existing U.S. law(s). In doing so, please explain your 
legal reasoning and identify the specific law(s) by which GRs and ATK 
may be protected.
    6. Please indicate whether and, if so, how GRs and ATK may be 
protected by tribal treaties, tribal customary law and protocols, 
tribal codes, or in other ways. In doing so, please explain your legal 
reasoning and identify the specific provision(s) of the identified ways 
by which GRs and ATK may be protected.
    7. If the United States does not become a party to the Treaty, 
please identify any Treaty or other provision(s) you believe should be 
incorporated in U.S. patent or other law for protection of GRs and ATK. 
In your response, please explain the reason(s) for and any impact(s) 
of, incorporating those provisions in U.S. patent or other law.
    8. In your view, please identify and explain any impact(s) of 
implementing the Treaty on domestic and global innovation, including 
both tribal and non-Indigenous innovation.
    9. Based on your experiences with other countries that require 
patent applicants to disclose the source or origin of GRs or ATK, 
please identify and explain any possible impact(s) of Treaty 
implementation in the United States.
    10. In your view, please identify and explain any impact(s) of 
implementing or not implementing the Treaty on the Tribal Nations and 
other Indigenous Peoples located in the U.S.

Derrick L. Brent,
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting 
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2025-01092 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
```