IGC 41 Summary

September 1, 2021

WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) concluded its Forty-First Session on August 31, 2021. This was the one and only session under the current IGC mandate for 2020-2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It concluded by making a recommendation to the WIPO General Assembly.

Director General Tang opened the session. The IGC re-elected Mr. Ian Goss of Australia as its Chair, and elected Ms. Lilyclaire Bellamy of Jamaica, Mr. Jukka Liedes of Finland, and Mr. Yonah Seleti of South Africa as its Vice-Chairs.

Making a Recommendation to the General Assembly

As an outcome, the IGC plenary agreed by consensus:

to recommend to the 2021 WIPO General Assembly that the mandate of the Committee be renewed for the 2022-2023 biennium, and to recommend to the 2021 General Assembly the terms of the mandate and work program for 2022-2023; and
to recommend that the 2021 WIPO General Assembly recognize the importance of the participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the work of the Committee, note that the WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities is depleted, encourage Member States to consider contributing to the Fund, and invite Member States to consider other alternate funding arrangements.

Indigenous and local community participation

Representatives of indigenous peoples and local communities attended the session remotely. An indigenous panel, which addressed “Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources/Traditional Knowledge/Traditional Cultural Expressions: Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ Perspectives”, was held on Monday, August 30, 2021.

Report

The initial draft report of IGC 41 will be prepared and circulated by October 15, 2021.