This Brief describes the main objectives of documenting traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, the intellectual property issues that may arise and options for addressing them.

There is growing interest in documenting the wealth of traditional knowledge (TK) that has been developed by indigenous peoples and local communities around the world. But documenting TK can raise important issues, especially as regards intellectual property. This Toolkit presents a range of easy-to-use checklists and other resources to help ensure that anyone considering a documentation project can address those issues effectively.

General information on the interface between intellectual property (IP) and traditional knowledge (TK), traditional cultural expressions (TCEs), and genetic resources (GRs). It briefly addresses the most important questions that arise when considering the role that 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 GRs.

This is one of a series of Booklets dealing with intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions/folklore.

This publication, prepared under the aegis of the WIPO Creative Heritage Project by two external consultants, Ms. Molly Torsen and Dr. Jane Anderson, offers legal information and compiles practical experiences on the management of intellectual property for cultural institutions whose collections comprise traditional cultural expressions. It seeks to respond directly to the needs of cultural institutions and indigenous and traditional communities dealing with the preservation, safeguarding and protection of cultural heritage.

This Brief describes the main objectives of documenting traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, the intellectual property issues that may arise and options for addressing them.

..This Guide intends to provide information for policy-makers, heads of intellectual property (IP) offices, and other decision-makers in countries in transition, on issues they need to consider before putting a legal framework in place. It aims to raise awareness of existing methods for the legal protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as to improve understanding of the interrelations, at international, regional and national levels, between the IP system, on the one hand, and traditional knowledge/traditional cultural expressions and their implications for economic, social, cultural and technical development, on the other hand.