WIPO – Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Traditional Cultural Expressions/Folklore

Traditional knowledge (TK), genetic resources (GRs) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs, or “expressions of folklore”) are economic and cultural assets of indigenous and local communities and their countries.

WIPO’s work addresses the role that intellectual property (IP) principles and systems can play in protecting TK and TCEs from misappropriation, and in generating and equitably sharing benefits from their commercialization and the role of IP in access to and benefit-sharing in genetic resources.