Protecting Indigenous Cultural Heritage Across Borders: A Delphi Study of International Traditional Cultural Expression Laws

Abstract

WIPO has been struggling with issues surrounding how to protect TCEs on an international level since the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore (IGC) was established in the year 2000. While many iterations of legal principles for the international protection of TCEs have been drafted, commented on by member states, and revised, no binding treaty has been enacted. The purpose of this study is to gather a group of international legal experts with experience in the area of the protection of TCEs to determine the areas of consensus using the Delphi impirical method. The data reveals areas of national law that are adequately protecting TCEs within the borders of a particular nation, as well as national laws that could use some additional areas of protection or enforcement. The research team seeks to accurately summarize and report on the areas of agreement among the international experts involved in this research to further explore areas for progress in protecting TCEs internationally across borders.Campus Research Board, Center for Global Studie