The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) has recently released its report on the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, known as the GRATK Treaty.
JSCOT supports the Treaty and recommends that Australia take binding treaty action. It also recommends that the Australian Government consult First Nations peoples, the plant science industry and other relevant industry stakeholders during implementation.
What the Treaty would do 
The Treaty would require Australia to introduce a disclosure of source requirement to the patent system in certain cases.
A patent applicant would need to give information about the source country or First Nations community when an invention is based on genetic resources or associated traditional knowledge. This would make the use of these resources and knowledge more visible in the patent system.
Ms Chrissy Grant, Chair of the Indigenous Knowledge Panel reflected on the importance of the Treaty during the JSCOT inquiry:
'The current IP system has historically enabled the extraction and commercialisation of Indigenous knowledge without attribution, consent or benefit. Joining the GRATK Treaty would be part of capturing the truth in the patent record where genetic resources or traditional knowledge have been used. It says this invention came from somewhere and from someone. That is the baseline that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been denied for too long.'
What happens next 
The Australian Government will consider JSCOT's report as part of the treaty process. A recommendation from JSCOT is an important step, but it is not the final decision to ratify the Treaty. Legislative changes would also be required before ratification could occur.
IP Australia welcomes the report and its recommendations. We will continue to consult the Indigenous Knowledge Panel, First Nations stakeholders and other relevant industry stakeholders as we develop implementation options. We will share more information as this work progresses.