Advances in research and development
reveal the immense diversity and
potential of marine genetic resources.
Under international law, no specific
regime applies to these complex and
paradoxical objects of use. The Law of
the Sea Convention sets a framework that
is partly inadequate for this new
category of resources. The Biodiversity
Convention and the Nagoya Protocol only
address the genetic resources of
national areas. Patents allow their
holder to exercise a monopoly on
exploiting biotechnological creations to
extensive claims, questioning the common
nature of biodiversity and related
knowledge. They hinder research and the
objectives of biodiversity law. The
legal and practical rules of physical
and functional access vary in geometry.
They focus on the valorization of
research results, crystallizing
conflicts of interest between suppliers
and users. Sustainable research and
development is essential to the
knowledge and protection of marine
biodiversity. The qualification of
marine genetic resources in common,
standard contractual tools, distributed
research and development
infrastructures, negotiation of an
agreement on sustainable use and
conservation of biodiversity beyond the
limits of national jurisdiction, would
To remove these inconsistencies.