Digital sequence information

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Digital sequence information (DSI) is a placeholder term used in international policy fora, particularly the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to refer to data derived from dematerialized genetic resources (GR).

Contents

Definition

The 2018 Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on DSI reached consensus that the term was "not appropriate". [1] Nevertheless, the term is generally agreed to include nucleic acid sequence data, and may be construed to include other data types derived from or linked to dematerialized genetic resources, including, for example, protein sequence data. [2] [3] The appropriateness and meaning of this term remain controversial as evidenced by its continued placeholder status, post the 15th Conference of the Parties to the CBD. [4] [5] [6] DSI is crucial to research in a wide range of contexts, including public health, medicine, biodiversity, plant and animal breeding, and evolution research.

Policy environment

Convention on Biological Diversity & Nagoya protocol

The Nagoya Protocol, a component of the Convention on Biological Diversity, establishes a right for countries to regulate, and to share in benefits derived from, their nation's genetic resources by arranging Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements with users. Academic researchers, however, generally share DSI freely and openly online, following a set of principles that align with the open science movement. [5] Open sharing of DSI is recognized to have broad benefits, and open science is a major and growing focus of international science policy. [7] [8] This creates a perceived conflict with benefit sharing obligations, as individuals can access and use these open data without entering into benefit-sharing agreements. Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are currently considering a range of policy options that strike different balances between these two important international policy goals. [4]

GRATK Treaty

In May 2024, [9] a WIPO Diplomatic Conference concluded the International Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK) [10] which mandates disclosure requirements for patents based on genetic resources (GR). [11] [12]

Some observers to the negotiations claim that, under the final wording of the treaty, the disclosure requirements apply to patents based on DSI, as long as the DSI was necessary to the patented invention, and/or the invention depends on the specific properties of the DSI:

The draft versions of the Treaty previously contemplated mentions of the qualifier “direct” in the trigger. Drafts also contemplated mentions of the qualifier “material,” both in the trigger itself and in its definition. These qualifiers were deleted by the drafters, leaving only the criteria of necessity and dependence on specific properties. If a GR was necessary to create a claimed invention, and the invention depends on such GR, even if indirectly and/or immaterially, it falls under the scope of this Treaty. A claimed invention relying on DSI obtained from a GR will therefore have to disclose the GR from which the DSI derives. [13]

Other treaties

DSI is also an important concept in other international legally binding instruments with access and benefit-sharing obligations, including:

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References

  1. ↑ "Report of the AHTEG on DSI on Genetic Resources", CBD/DSI/AHTEG/2018/1/4, https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/4493/56b5/4ec917358b3cb37c7f7061f5/dsi-ahteg-2018-01-04-en.pdf
  2. ↑ Houssen, Wael; Sara, Rodrigo; Marcel, Jaspars. "Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources: Concept, Scope and Current Use" (PDF). Convention on Biological Diversity. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  3. ↑ Laird, Sarah; Wynberg, Rachel. "CBD/DSI/AHTEG/2018/1/3 Page 2 A Fact-Finding and Scoping Study on Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources in the Context of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol" (PDF). Convention on Biological Diversity. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Digital sequence information on genetic resources". Convention on Biological Diversity. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Rohden, Fabian; Scholz, Amber Hartman (2021-05-05). "The international political process around Digital Sequence Information under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 2018–2020 intersessional period". Plants, People, Planet. 4 (1): 51–60. doi: 10.1002/ppp3.10198 . ISSN   2572-2611. S2CID   235562169.
  6. ↑ Daily Report for 14 December 2022, IISD, https://enb.iisd.org/un-biodiversity-conference-oewg5-cbd-cop15-daily-report-14dec2022
  7. ↑ Gaffney, Jim; Tibebu, Redeat; Bart, Rebecca; Beyene, Getu; Girma, Dejene; Kane, Ndjido Ardo; Mace, Emma S.; Mockler, Todd; Nickson, Thomas E.; Taylor, Nigel; Zastrow-Hayes, Gina (2020-09-01). "Open access to genetic sequence data maximizes value to scientists, farmers, and society". Global Food Security. 26: 100411. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100411 . ISSN   2211-9124. S2CID   225202844.
  8. ↑ UNESCO (2021-11-24). "UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science". unesdoc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  9. ↑ "Nations agree landmark treaty on traditional knowledge, protecting Indigenous Peoples' rights | UN News". news.un.org. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
  10. ↑ WIPO (2024-05-24). WIPO Treaty on intellectual property, genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge (PDF). Geneva: WIPO (published 2024).
  11. ↑ Muñoz Tellez, Viviana (2023-03-14). The WIPO Diplomatic Conference for a Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (PDF). Policy Brief Nº. 117. Geneva: South Centre.
  12. ↑ "WIPO Member States Adopt Historic New Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
  13. ↑ Riboulet-Zemouli, Kenzi (2024-05-26). "Written Contribution to the Proceedings of the WIPO Diplomatic Conference on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge; Circulated to Member States and the Secretariat for inclusion in the Proceedings, according to the Rules of Procedures of the Diplomatic Conference". Cannabis Embassy (Legatio Cannabis — 大麻大使馆 — سفارة القنب). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  14. ↑ Aubry, Sylvain; Frison, Christine; Medaglia, Jorge C.; Frison, Emile; Jaspars, Marcel; Rabone, Muriel; Sirakaya, Aysegul; Saxena, Devanshi; Zimmeren, Esther van (2022). "Bringing access and benefit sharing into the digital age". Plants, People, Planet. 4 (1): 5–12. doi: 10.1002/ppp3.10186 . hdl: 2164/17858 . ISSN   2572-2611. S2CID   233968334.
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