On October 1, 2009 the WIPO General Assembly renewed the mandate of the Intergovernmental Committee on Generic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. Here below is the consensus decision reached by the General Assembly.
Bearing in mind the Development Agenda recommendations, the WIPO General Assembly agrees that that the mandate of the WIPO intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore be renewed as follows:
(a) The Committee wil, during the next budgetary biennium (2010/2011), and without prejudice to the work pursued in the other fora, continue its work and undertake text-based negotiations with the objective of reaching agreement on a text of an international legal instrument (or instruments) which will ensure the effective protection of GRs, TK and TCEs.
(b) The Committee will follow, as set out in the Annex, a clearly defined work program for the 2010/2011 biennium. This work program will make provision for, in addition to the 15th session of the Committee scheduled for December 2009, four sessions of the IGC and three inter-sessional working groups, in the 2010-2011 biennium.
(c) The focus of the Committee’s work in 2010/2011 biennium will build on the existing work carried out by the Committee and use all WIPO working documents, including WIPO/GRTKA/IC/9/4, WIPO/GRTKF/IC/9/5 and WIPO/GRTKF/11/8A (Traditional Cultural Expressions, Traditional Knowledge and Genetic Resources), which are to constitute the basis of the Committee’s work on text-based negotiations.
(d) The Committee is requested to submit to the 2011 General Assembly the text (or texts) of an international legal instrument (or instruments) which will ensure the effective protection of GRs, TK and TCEs. The General Assembly in 2011 will decide on convening a Diplomatic Conference.
(e) The General Assembly requests the International Bureau to continue to assist the Committee by providing Member States with necessary expertise and funding of the participation of experts from developing countries and LDCs according to the usual formula.
(f) the General Assembly adopts the draft report of the 14th session of the Committee as reflected in document WIPO/GRTKF/IC/14/12 Prov. 2 as the report of that session.”
[Annex follows]
| Date | Activity |
| February/March 2010 | First Intersessional Working Group |
| May/June 2010 | IGC 16 |
| September 2010 | WIPO General Assembly |
| October 2010 | Second Intersessional Working Group |
| December 2010 | IGC 17 |
| February/March 2011 | Third Intersessional Working Group |
| May/June 2011 | IGC 18 |
| Early September 2011 | IGC 19 |
| September 2011 | WIPO General Assembly |