The Delegation of the Republic of Korea Statement at the Thirteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional
Knowledge and Folklore (GRTKF) 13 October 2008
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your election as the chairman of the IGC.
Also, we would like to complement the endeavors and achievements of the IGC for developing discussions on GRTKF. The Delegation of the Republic of Korea appreciates the Secretariat’s efforts in preparing the documents for this session including the Gap Analysis document on TCE and TK.
Particularly, the Gap Analysis on TCEs suggests concrete and tangible options that the member states can consider. We believe it will be an excellent foundation for future discussion on TCEs.
My delegation believes measures for the protection of GRTKF should be in conformity with existing IP Systems. Otherwise, the protection of GRTKF may create conflicts with existing systems and result in numerous legal disputes.
Therefore, we think thorough analysis and discussion on the existing obligations, provisions and possibilities for the protection of GRTKF are inevitable and prerequisite to the possible establishment of new norms for the protection of GRTKF.
Also, we would like to highlight the importance of the policy considerations suggested in the Gap Analysis. We should discuss not only the interest of indigenous and other traditional communities but also other policy considerations such as preservation of public domain and freedom of expression which have enormous implications to the intellectual and creative activities of all human beings.
In this context, we believe more IP experts based discussion will be helpful in exploring the possible options for the protection of GRTKF within existing IP system and determining whether new norms need to be developed.
We wish to reiterate that the IGC could make substantial progress in this regard.
Thank you. Mr. Chairman.
