ABSTRACT
The key problem from the outset is that the Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) process has set about placing 'traditional knowledge round pegs into intellectual property rights square holes'. The IGC has made it clear that its focus regarding traditional knowledge (TK) 'is to remain tightly tied to World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO's) overall intellectual property (IP) mandate' and although acknowledging that indigenous peoples have much broader aspirations and expectations than the status quo, the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) concludes that its worldwide fact-finding mission may have 'created unrealistic expectations' and that there was therefore a need to 'manage expectations among TK holders and others regarding the role of IP in TK protection'. The visit was part of the FFM undertaken by WIPO representatives to the South Pacific in 1998 as a precursor to establishing the WIPO IGC.
