FILCOLS @ The Forum on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge (an IPOPHL event)

FILCOLS’ Napoleon Almonte, Licensing Officer and Beverly Siy, Membership and Documentation Officer, attended the Forum on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge held last March 21 and 22 at the National Museum, P. Burgos St., Manila.

More than one hundred individuals attended the event. Most of them were from government agencies, cultural and artistic organizations, ethnic groups, university research offices, non-government organizations and research institutions all over the country. The speakers were experts from the local, regional and international scene.

One of the key participants was the Director General of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry.

One of the objectives of the event was to discuss the sharing of benefits on the use of traditional knowledge in indigenous communitites for commercial purposes as allowed by the communities. Some of the topics that were covered were Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Traditional Cultural Expressions: Overview of Issues, Options and Recent International Developments, Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Peoples: The Philippines Legal Landscape, Intellectual Property Protection of Traditional Knowledge: The Malaysian Experience, Initiatives in the Protection of Traditional Knowledge by IPOPHL and Protecting Traditional Knowledge in India.

This event was organized by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, WIPO, National Museum, National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Commission for the Indigenous Peoples.