ABSTRACT
Intangible cultural heritage has become an area of great interest for a diverse group of 'stakeholders'. Among the chief reasons for this increasing interest are the embrace of culture in more development strategies and the emergence of cultural and heritage tourism. Specialized intellectual property agencies such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) saw 'traditional knowledge' as part of a wider heritage concept. WIPO's work related to intangible cultural heritage is as old as and in its normative aspects perhaps older than that of United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The interventions of UNESCO in the intangible cultural heritage field, most notably through its 2003 Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, has done much to generate interest both globally and within the States Parties, that is, those UNESCO Member States that have ratified or acceded to the convention.
