MEETING REPORT Meeting: 11th Session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore

The 11th Session of the WIPO IGC saw a divide between developing countries and indigenous groups, who advocated for a binding legal instrument to protect traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs), and developed countries, such as the US and Japan, who argued against substantive discussions at this stage. Despite this deadlock, the committee recommended renewing its mandate for two years under the 2005 WIPO General Assembly conditions, though it failed to include language requiring convergence on a specific outcome.

• There was a sharp divide between member states regarding the readiness to address substantive intellectual property protections for traditional knowledge. Developing countries and indigenous groups unanimously argued that a "binding legal instrument was required", while developed countries, specifically the US and Japan, maintained it was "too soon to address substantive issues".
• The US proposed that the process should first examine "national experiences" and the potential role of "existing intellectual property mechanism", while Japan stated it saw "no necessity for providing intellectual property protection to traditional knowledge".
• The committee recommended that its mandate be renewed for an additional two years under the same conditions as the 2005 WIPO General Assembly, which includes the possibility of developing an "international instrument or instruments". However, efforts by developing countries to ensure the committee converge on a specific outcome failed, resulting in vague language about working towards "further convergence of views".

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2007). MEETING REPORT Meeting: 11th Session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/WIPO_Report_1Aug07.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. MEETING REPORT Meeting: 11th Session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. 2007. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/WIPO_Report_1Aug07.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=MEETING REPORT Meeting: 11th Session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore |date=2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/WIPO_Report_1Aug07.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2007meeting, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{MEETING REPORT Meeting: 11th Session of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/WIPO_Report_1Aug07.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }