From March 4 to 13, the 52nd session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was held at WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Representatives from numerous countries including the United States, Russia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Chile and Nigeria, as well as intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union and the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), non-governmental organizations and indigenous peoples’ representatives participated in the meeting. At the invitation of the Copyright Administration of the Central Propaganda Department, Professor Hu Kaizhong of KoGuan School of Law joined the Chinese delegation as an expert of the National Copyright Administration to participate in the international treaty negotiations and provided professional advice on the deliberation of agenda items.

The session continued discussions on issues related to the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, and conducted textual negotiations on the draft provisions for the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. It was supplemented by information-sharing sessions and thematic discussions on indigenous issues to facilitate the exchange of experiences and communication of positions.

To ensure in-depth participation in global intellectual property governance under the WIPO framework and advance the formulation of international copyright rules in the field of intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore, the National Copyright Administration organized a delegation to attend the meeting. During the session, the Chinese delegation shared China’s experience in the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions at the conference, which attracted great attention from the participating representatives and exerted positive international influence. Professor Hu Kaizhong actively put forward suggestions on relevant issues in the international treaty. During the treaty negotiations, the Chinese delegation took an active part in the discussions and put forward relevant proposals on treaty negotiation and formulation, contributing China’s solutions to the development of the treaty.