WIPO Traditional Knowledge

Preserving heritage 😊, sustaining livelihoods 👪🏽

Meet Judith, a woman entrepreneur from Eastern Uganda who grew up learning agriculture and herbal medicine from her grandmother – knowledge she is committed to passing down to future generations.

As chairperson of the Jinja Women Agribusiness Cooperative, Judith works with over 120 women to keep traditional production techniques alive and diversify income opportunities for their community.

With support from Funds-in-Trust Japan Industrial Property Global and WIPO, the Cooperative recently acquired new equipment to boost production and is now working to register a collective mark to protect and promote their products.

Judith’s story shows how communities can strengthen their cultural heritage and build new economic opportunities when they have access to the resources and recognition they need.

📷 Micheal Balyeku

Great news: Albania 🇦🇱 has joined the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge.

The Treaty addresses the interface between intellectual property, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge. It is also the first WIPO Treaty to include specific provisions for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

By requiring patent applicants to disclose the origin or source of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, the Treaty aims to improve the quality of the patent system and prevent erroneous grant of patents for inventions that are not novel or inventive with regard to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

With Albania’s accession, the Treaty now has three members. It will enter into force once 15 countries have joined.

Learn more about the Treaty and its significance: https://ow.ly/QCHf50WnCvK.

“Our communities are unique. Our knowledge matters. And when it is recognized, it can create real opportunity.”

In Domboshava, Zimbabwe, Tsitsi Machingauta is working with women farmers, transforming Indigenous fruit and forest products into teas, juices and health supplements.

Drawing on knowledge passed down through generations, she founded the Women's Farming Syndicate, an organization that empowers women by turning Indigenous knowledge systems into market-ready products.

Through WIPO’s Women Entrepreneurship Program, Tsitsi learned how she can use branding, logos and intellectual property tools to grow her business, and gained access to expert mentorship and local legal support.

What’s next? Tsitsi is now working on the registration of a collective mark to help protect and promote the Syndicate’s products and shared knowledge.

Read her story here: https://ow.ly/M2bo50YqeZA

📸 Shaun Jusa / Xinhua; Tafadzwa Mupfawa

Indigenous perspectives at WIPO 🗣📢

Next week, representatives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities are participating in discussions at WIPO on the protection of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, and genetic resources.

The discussions taking place in the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore will bring together governments, experts, and members of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

After the formal opening of the Committee, Indigenous representatives will lead a panel discussion (“Together or Apart? The Relationship Between Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions”) that explores how traditional knowledge connects with cultural expressions such as music, dance, and art.

👉Find out more about the upcoming Committee: https://t.ly/ID68O.
👉Watch live: https://webcast.wipo.int/home (March 4-13; plenary sessions only).
👉More about the Panel of Indigenous Peoples and local communities: https://t.ly/Ib-Ni.

Photo: WIPO/Berrod

What is sacred traditional knowledge?

Sacred traditional knowledge refers to knowledge that holds deep spiritual or religious meaning for a community. It may include ceremonies, prayers, chants, sacred objects and symbols, as well as particular plants, animals, or places.

What makes knowledge sacred is not defined from the outside. It is determined by the community itself, according to its beliefs and values. For this reason, sacred knowledge is often shared carefully and with responsibility.

Understanding key terms like this helps ensure that traditional knowledge is respected and valued in ways that honor community perspectives.

Learn more in WIPO’s glossary:
https://shorturl.at/tovKm

Who’s behind WIPO’s Traditional Knowledge Division? Meet the team 😊

Bringing together experiences and perspectives from a variety of countries and backgrounds, our team has one shared commitment: to support Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities in protecting, sharing, and benefiting from their traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

Our work ranges from supporting global negotiations on intellectual property and traditional knowledge to engaging directly with and bringing together communities, artists, and entrepreneurs.

Teamwork and inclusive listening are central to everything we do. By learning from each other and from the communities we work with, we better understand Indigenous perspectives and can more effectively support community-based projects and livelihoods – encouraging respectful use of traditional knowledge.

Learn more about our work: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/traditional-knowledge

📸 Photo: WIPO/Berrod

Turning local products into collective strength 🌿

In the Philippines' Bicol region, the Pili tree is more than just a crop – it sustains local artisans and producers.

The Orgullo Kan Bikol (OKB) Association owns a collective trademark for products derived from the tree, including handicrafts, cosmetics, jewelry, and fashion items.

Their shared brand helps local producers boost visibility at home and abroad, opening new opportunities to promote local culture and support community livelihoods.

OKB recently joined a WIPO-Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines training, where Indigenous Peoples, local communities and IP officers exchanged experiences and explored how collective marks can help protect local products, preserve cultural heritage and support communities.

📸 Photos: Carlos Silva Films

What is a “custodian” of traditional knowledge? 🌿

A custodian is often understood as someone who guards or protects. In the context of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, the term has a deeper meaning: Custodians are communities, peoples or individuals who, according to customary laws and practices, maintain, use, develop, and pass on traditional knowledge and cultural expressions.

Their role is not about ownership. It is about responsibility, care, and ensuring that knowledge is used in ways that respect community values and customary law.

Gaining a clear understanding of terms like this helps us better appreciate how traditional knowledge is respected and safeguarded.

Explore more terms in WIPO’s glossary: https://shorturl.at/eWotm

When a local tradition gains the right support, it can reach the world 🧵 ✨

In Koniaków, Poland, ethnographer and cultural entrepreneur Lucyna Ligocka-Kohut is helping to safeguard the region’s distinctive lace-making tradition.

Raised in a community of generations of lace makers, she promotes the craft through exhibitions, cultural initiatives and international collaborations.

Lucyna’s work helped Koniaków lace become the first tradition on Poland’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. She also founded the Koniaków Lace Foundation and established the Koniaków Lace Museum and Cultural Center (Centrum Koronki Koniakowskiej ), a creative space for artisans and visitors.

After joining WIPO’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Program in 2023, Lucyna used her intellectual property knowledge from the course to register an EU trademark for the Koniaków Lace Center, helping her further protect and promote her community’s traditional craft. She is now working towards obtaining geographical indication recognition for Koniaków lace under the EU’s new registration scheme for craft and industrial product names.

Read the full story: https://t.ly/18y26.

📸 Photos: Lucyna Ligocka-Kohut