A fair and effective regime regulating benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources (MGR) in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) must consider the inclusion of developing states, support scientific research and safeguard investments of the private sector. The present innovative proposal ensures a delicate balance through an approach based on open access, albeit with limitations. Access to MGR in ABNJ is facilitated, but conditional on the public release of collected samples and raw data. Adoption of the open access principle guarantees a powerful form of non-monetary benefit-sharing. The balance is maintained by the option for an extended embargo period, allowing samples and data to be kept confidential for a certain period, against payment to a biodiversity contribution fund. Monetary benefit-sharing, as a sector-negotiated

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With the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010, an additional legal instrument under the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), the legal landscape surrounding the access to and utilization of genetic resources will change. This is likely to impact working procedures for scientists, turning pre-existing ethics into legal obligations. The aim of this article is to inform scientists on the global access and benefit-sharing framework which has been set by the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol, focusing specifically on their application to marine genetic resources for which the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) also has relevance.