WIPO Indigenous IP Law Fellowship Program

In December 2008, WIPO Member States approved a revised program for WIPO which included the inauguration of an Indigenous IP Law Fellowship, so as to respond to the "reciprocal needs for stronger capacity in the rapidly growing domain of indigenous IP law and for strengthened capacity on IP law and policy for indigenous lawyers and policy advisors." This program has now been launched.

A WIPO Indigenous IP Fellow will

• advise WIPO on legal and policy matters relating to IP and the customary, national and international law that concerns indigenous peoples, with a particular specialist focus on intellectual property law and related elements of law;
• undertake research, drafting and the preparation of publications and other awareness raising materials;
• participate on the Secretariat of the IGC and related meetings; and
• undertake outreach consultations and training activities focused on indigenous peoples.

A Fellow would not be expected to work as an independent scholar, advisor or analyst, but would operate within the WIPO Secretariat and would directly participate in the delivery of core program outputs.

A Fellow is expected to meet the following requirements:

• A recognized and active member of an indigenous community
• An established track record in advising on and researching legal issues relating to indigenous peoples and the law and practice of intellectual property
• Legal qualifications, or equivalent in practical expertise and community work, preferably with specific components relating to intellectual property law or closely related areas of law
•  Ability to work effectively in English, and to prepare documents suitable for publication in at least one of the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish)
• A record of publications (general awareness raising, formal legal analysis, or scholarly publications) and/or participation in community consultations and outreach would be an advantage
• The Fellow will also be selected on the basis of demonstrated capacity to contribute directly to the approved program outputs established in the WIPO program and budget.

Full details of the program are available here [PDF].