9 August 2011
WIPO IGC Expected to Continue Work on Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources, Cultural Expressions
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The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) agreed to recommend that the WIPO General Assembly renew its mandate for the 2012-2013 biennium.

The recommendation is expected to be endorsed by the 2011 session of the WIPO General Assembly, convening in September and October 2011.

28 July 2011: The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) agreed to recommend that the WIPO General Assembly renew its mandate for the 2012-2013 biennium.

The decision was taken during the 19th session of the IGC, held from 18-22 July 2011, in Geneva, Switzerland, and is expected to be endorsed by the 2011 session of the WIPO General Assembly held from 26 September-5 October 2011.

Recognizing the progress made by the IGC during its work in 2010 and 2011, the proposed new mandate calls for its text-based negotiations to be expedited with the objective of reaching agreement on a text, or texts, of an international legal instrument(s), which will ensure the effective protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. For the 2012/2013 biennium, the IGC will follow a clearly defined work programme, and meet three times before the 2012 WIPO General Assembly. The first IGC session under the new mandate is expected to take place in February 2012 and address genetic resources. The subsequent two sessions are tentatively expected to take place in April 2012 to address traditional knowledge, and July 2012 to address traditional cultural expressions.

The IGC is requested to submit to the 2012 General Assembly the text(s) of an international legal instrument(s), and the General Assembly “will take stock of and consider the text(s), progress made and decide on convening a Diplomatic Conference.” The nature of the future instrument(s), that is whether they will be legally binding or not, has not yet been agreed upon.

After holding a preparatory meeting from 27-30 June 2011, in Bali, Indonesia, the group of Like-Minded Developing Countries circulated three draft texts on traditional cultural expressions, traditional knowledge and genetic resources. Discussion on these texts was postponed to IGC’s next session. The draft on genetic resources focuses on a mandatory disclosure requirement in patent applications, and aims at establishing a link between the future instrument and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS). [WIPO IGC-19 Decisions] [WIPO Secretariat Update] [IISD RS Sources]


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