Data & IP Licensing Ethics Policy
Purpose
IsoGentiX generates multi-omics datasets — genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, and environmental — derived from biological material accessed under Nagoya Protocol-compliant agreements with Madagascar's national authorities. The commercial licensing of these datasets is IsoGentiX's primary revenue activity. This policy sets out the ethical standards that govern how data and derived intellectual property are licensed.
ABS compliance in licensing
No dataset derived from Madagascar genetic resources is licensed to a third party unless all applicable Prior Informed Consent and Mutually Agreed Terms conditions have been satisfied. Licence agreements include explicit representations by IsoGentiX that the underlying material was accessed in compliance with Nagoya Protocol obligations, and impose downstream ABS compliance obligations on licensees where required by applicable law.
Prohibited licensing uses
IsoGentiX will not knowingly license data or derived IP for use in:
- Weapons development, including biological or chemical weapons research
- Applications that would cause direct harm to Madagascar's ecosystems or communities
- Activities by sanctioned parties or entities on applicable sanctions lists
- Purposes that would constitute a breach of the Nagoya Protocol or CBD obligations by the licensee
Where a proposed licensee's intended use raises concern, IsoGentiX will conduct enhanced due diligence and may decline to license.
Data provenance and attribution
Datasets licensed by IsoGentiX include complete provenance metadata — collection location, date, species identification, permit reference, and ABS documentation reference. IsoGentiX does not strip provenance data prior to licensing. Licensees are contractually prohibited from removing or obscuring provenance metadata.
Traditional knowledge
Where datasets incorporate or were generated with reference to traditional knowledge held by Malagasy communities, this is documented in the dataset metadata. IsoGentiX does not claim ownership of traditional knowledge and does not license it as its own IP. Benefit-sharing obligations associated with traditional knowledge utilisation are specified in the relevant MAT and honoured in full.
Quality representations
IsoGentiX represents only the data quality standards that have been demonstrably achieved. Licence agreements specify the analytical methods, quality thresholds, and coverage metrics applicable to each dataset. IsoGentiX does not make representations about data quality that exceed what the underlying methodology supports.
IP ownership and restrictions
Intellectual property in IsoGentiX's datasets and analytical outputs is owned by IsoGentiX subject to sovereign rights retained by Madagascar and benefit-sharing obligations owed to national authorities and communities. Licensees receive a defined licence to use the data for specified purposes; they do not acquire ownership of the underlying IP unless this is explicitly agreed in writing.