Safeguarding Traditional Knowledge
The International Forum on Traditional Knowledge and Folklore has called on the international community to promote interaction between diverse cultures and integrate traditional knowledge into the intellectual property system for the good of the developing countries.
A number of four hundred delegates from 30 countries, including the Gulf Cooperation Council states, attended the forum in Muscat, which was organized by the Omani government in coordination with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Speakers reiterated the need to promote mass awareness and strengthening interaction between traditional knowledge holders, support institutions, national governments and the intellectual property regime. The WIPO Director-General commended Oman’s continuous efforts to protect its cultural heritage. Traditional knowledge deals with the rights of peoples, mainly in the developing world, unlike intellectual property, which focuses on the rights of individuals.