At the time of its creation, the Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) was believed to be an important step toward developing internationally acceptable and equitable solutions for the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and folklore. Developing countries, however, in which the majority of these resources originate, have since often questioned the lack of progress within the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) framework in addressing the challenges posed by the links between intellectual property and genetic resources and traditional knowledge. As the IGC embarks on its extended mandate, decided in October 2003 at the thirty ninth series of WIPO Assemblies, it is thus essential to assess the work of the IGC in order to determine appropriate strategies and steps for the future. Consequently, this review provides a critical analysis of the activities of the IGC under its original mandate and makes a number of recommendations regarding potential objectives for the next phase of work at WIPO.