Benefit sharing: combining intellectual property, trade secrets, science and an ecosystem focussed approach

This contribution develops a new approach to benefit sharing in areas beyond national jurisdiction. It has regard to a breadth of relevant legal regimes, sustainability, the needs of science, analogies with Farmers Rights and the prospect of increased involvement of the commercial sector. Proposals are made for the benefit sharing regime to cover digital sequences of marine genetic resources; for restrictions to be imposed on the rights of IP owners and controllers of trade secrets to enable delivery of a balanced approach to benefit
sharing; for an open sharing of the results of research cruises; for a pragmatic and deliverable approach to tracing use of marine genetic resources across present and future development pipelines; and for different approaches to be taken to benefit sharing in respect of ecologically sustainable technologies, to encourage their pursuit. The proposals are marked in italics.