Marine Genetic Resources: An Intellectual Property Perspective

After about 20 years of negotiations in different fora, the United Nations (UN) adopted on 19 June 2023 the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). The BBNJ Agreement is intended to ensure conservational and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Part II of the new BBNJ Agreement deals with marine genetic resources (MGRs) of areas beyond national jurisdiction, i.e. the high seas and the Area (Art. 1(2), BBNJ Agreement), the digital sequence information (DSI) on MGRs, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization.