4 April 2014: Following two weeks of text-based negotiations, the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) revised and forwarded to the WIPO General Assembly two sets of draft articles on traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. These drafts, along with the draft on intellectual property and genetic resources forwarded by the IGC in February 2014, could form the basis of one or more international legal instruments.

The 27th session of the WIPO IGC was held from 24 March – 4 April 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland. A panel on indigenous people’s right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property was held on 24 March 2014. During the first week, negotiators addressed draft articles on the protection of traditional knowledge. The draft articles were approved on 28 March 2014, to be transmitted to the General Assembly in September 2014. Many key elements of the draft articles, including on beneficiaries of protection, scope of protection, complementary measures, sanctions and remedies and disclosure requirements, are still unresolved and remain in brackets.

With regard to traditional cultural expressions, parts of the draft text have been revised to reflect an approach largely in parallel to the text on traditional knowledge, according to reports. One of the most debated, and still pending, issues was the inclusion of nations as possible beneficiaries of the future instrument. Following a proposal by an indigenous representative who pointed to relevant provisions of the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a new section on technical assistance and awareness raising was added to the text.

On 31 March 2014, delegates worked on defining cross-cutting issues between traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, on the basis of a document prepared by IGC Chair Wayne McCook (Jamaica), which addressed: the meaning of “traditional,” issues related to the beneficiaries of protection, the meanings of misappropriation and misuse, and the treatment of publicly available or widely diffused traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

WIPO IGC 28, to be held in July 2014, will address cross-cutting issues and will decide on recommending to the WIPO General Assembly whether or not to convene a diplomatic conference. [WIPO IGC 27 Documents][WIPO IGC 27 Decisions][Revised Draft Articles on Traditional Knowledge][Revised Draft Articles on Traditional Cultural Expressions][Further Information on the WIPO IGC] [IISD RS story on WIPO IGC 26]