In a move to protect the culture of China's 56 distinct ethnic minorities, the government is working with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. The goal is to identify circumstances in which intellectual property rights (IPR) provide adequate protection to expressions of traditional cultures and those in which additional rights may be necessary.

As part of its work with China, from November 28 to December 4, 2002, at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture, WIPO undertook a fact-finding mission to China on the legal protection of traditional cultural expressions. The mission took place in Yunnan Province, in Southwest China, home to 43 million people and 25 ethnic minorities.

Intense itinerary

Over seven full days, the WIPO delegation travelled to Kunming; Ganlanba, Jinghong city; Lunmeng town, Mengla County; Baka, Jinghong city; Sanyuan village and Shuhe village, Baisha town, Lijiang County; Xinhua, Zhoucheng and Xizhou, Heqing County, Dali Prefecture.

At each place, the delegation consulted with minority groups, musicians and performers, artists, academics and researchers, museum personnel and archivists, and handicraft makers. The delegation was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Culture and the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People's Congress, a representative of the Department of Culture under Yunnan provincial government, and by local officials at each of the places visited.

The mission was fascinating and informative. A striking feature was the extent to which ethnic minorities still practice their cultural traditions and customs in their daily life. The promotion of cultural heritage occupies a prominent position within the province's economic, cultural, tourism and environmental strategies, underlining the fact that cultural heritage and traditional cultural expressions are economic as well as cultural assets.

In line with the findings of other fact-finding missions conducted by WIPO in 1998 and 1999, people interviewed by the WIPO delegation were familiar with the preservation and promotion of their culture. The delegation learned of many impressive initiatives at the national, provincial and local levels.

Unaware of IPR

However, there was little awareness of the intellectual property angle. For example, ways in which traditional music could be used by third parties to create a copyrightable musical work, or how a traditional sign can be used as a trademark by a commercial enterprise. The delegation found little knowledge of intellectual property among the people with whom they met. Many of the contacts suggested that awareness-raising seminars on intellectual property and legal protection of traditional cultural expression would be useful.

However, the delegation did find some awareness and use of the intellectual property system. In a village outside the town of Lijiang, the delegation met with a craftsman who had applied for and obtained industrial design protection for a silver-plated tea set incorporating tradition-based creative designs. These examples and the other lessons learned on this successful mission will inform further discussion within the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee and be featured in the forthcoming WIPO Practical Guide on the Legal Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions.

The article was contributed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a special UN agency ,and has been published in the WIPO Magazine.

(China Daily 12/25/2006 page9)