The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC or Committee) has existed since 2001 to discuss and find solutions to issues on the interface between intellectual property (IP), on the one hand, and genetic resources (GR), traditional knowledge (TK) and folklore, on the other. The IGC is meant to focus its work on the international dimension of these questions. No outcome of its work is excluded, including the possible development of an international instrument or instruments.
The IGC is not a typical WIPO committee. The key difference is that it has a two-year, but renewable, life-span . Since 2003, the mandate of the IGC has been renewed, and redefined, consecut ively for two-year periods. The main reason why the IGC was given a two years life-span was for WIPO Member States to accelerate the pace of discussions and find agreement on pressing questions within this time frame.