I found this post about the invitational Traditional Cultural Expression Conference to be a provocative twist in the information ownership debate that has arisen around OCLC’s new Policy (see “Final ‘Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records’ Posted by OCLC”).
I look forward to following the discussion of the first keynote speech, presented by Wend Wendland, who is “head of the Traditional Creativity, Cultural Expressions, and Cultural Heritage Section of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).” While the dialogue started at the issue of international copyright, it soon
‘leaped from folk art to questions about who owns the rights to ancient human remains and to a definition of “genetic resources”’ .
Even more interesting -
Carrie Russel of the ALA Washington Office sees a need for librarians to be involved with WIPO and to take part in global conversations about intellectual property. Since the content of this conference seems to be focusing so far on indigenous communities’ expression and creation, Russel sees a role for librarians in helping indigenous communities identify, collect, conserve, and share their intellectual property. (With a B.A. in anthropology and hopes of earning my MLIS in the near future, this topic is the fulcrum of many of my personal and professional interests.)
I’m a really looking forward to this upcoming discussion: “Challenges to Libraries and Archives in the Management of Works of Indigenous Communities.”
