From its first session, the IGC supported a task which would lead to the development by WIPO of Intellectual Property Guidelines for Access and Benefit-sharing.  It was proposed that the Guidelines be based on a systemic survey of actual and model contractual agreements in the form of the WIPO Database of Biodiversity-related Access and Benefit-sharing Agreements.

A first draft was prepared taking into account the operational principles identified by the IGC for the development of such Guidelines.  This draft was later updated for purposes of the seventeenth session of the IGC.

The purpose of the Intellectual Property Guidelines for Access and Benefit-sharing is to serve both providers and recipients of genetic resources when they negotiate, develop and draft the intellectual property elements of mutually agreed terms for access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing.  They illustrate the practical intellectual property issues that providers and recipients are likely to face when negotiating an agreement, contract or license.  The diversity of national law and of the practical interests of providers and recipients are likely to lead to a wide range of choices when actual provisions are negotiated and drafted.  Guidelines may therefore support providers and recipients in ensuring that access and benefit-sharing is on equitable, mutually agreed terms, but does not prescribe one template or set of choices.

Further, nothing in such Guidelines should be interpreted to affect the sovereign rights of States over their natural resources, including their entitlement to set terms and conditions on access and benefit‑sharing.  Guidelines would be voluntary and illustrative only.  They would be no substitute for relevant international, regional or national legislation.

Traditional knowledge is often associated with genetic resources, and this can provide valuable insights into how genetic resources can be preserved, maintained, and used for the benefit of humanity.  The Guidelines also apply to traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.