WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, First Intersessional Working Group
19-23 July 2010 (Geneva, Switzerland)
The first intersessional working group of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Foklore (IGC) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) focused on what is considered to be the most mature of the topics covered by IGC’s work: traditional cultural expressions. The working group was composed of technical experts, one from each WIPO member state, participating in their personal capacities. In addition, experts from indigenous groups and NGOs also took part in the informal and open-ended drafting groups. This new format resulted in an intense drafting session on traditional cultural expressions. The meeting’s outcome will be sent to the IGC, for consideration at its next session, to be held from 6-10 December 2010.
According to IP Watch, the meeting made the first real strides in over a decade at developing concrete rules to protect the cultural expressions and folklore of indigenous and local communities. At the same time, it is clear that creating a sui generis system for their protection is not a simple process. As attending delegates worked to refine text, disagreements were revealed on several of the articles in the form of different options, comments to the text, and questions on the state of play of protection and related institutions. There are currently 11 articles in the compilation text, some of which have been more controversial than others; a possible article 12 on transboundary cooperation was also proposed in the comments to the compilation text. Articles 2 and 4, on defining the beneficiaries and managers of cultural expressions rights, caused some disagreement, and may prove one of the harder issues to resolve. Other issues that came up were how to reference prior informed consent, and where in the text to do so, and who should manage rights. Visit the meeting website … Download the meeting summary report [pdf] … Read WIPO’s press release … Read an IP Watch article on the meeting …
