The fourth meeting of WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore took place from 9-17 December 2002 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The meeting focused on possible ways of providing legal protection for traditional knowledge and folklore, including through the use of databases, a multilateral sui generis system and disclosure requirements for country of origin, benefit sharing and prior informed consent in patent applications. On the sidelines of the meeting, a group of indigenous experts launched the “Call of the Earth” initiative, aiming to respond to the “threats and challenges of emerging international intellectual property policies that do not adequately reflect or respond to the concerns of indigenous peoples.” For more information on the Committee’s fourth meeting, visit: http://www.wipo.int/globalissues/igc/documents/index.html#4 and BRIDGES Trade BioRes, Vol.2 No. 20 (20 December 2002) at: http://www.ictsd.org For more information on the “Call of the Earth” initiative, visit: http://www.earthcall.org