InfoCons Informs You : Romania’s Experience on Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Presented for the World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO / Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle OMPI

InfoCons Informs You : Romania’s Experience on Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Presented for the World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO / Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle OMPI

Last week, Romania’s experience in protecting and promoting Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) was presented during the 52nd session of the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

The intervention took place within the Information Sharing Session dedicated to “Regional, National and Community Policies and Legislations Regarding the Intellectual Property Protection of TK and TCEs”, providing an opportunity to highlight Romania’s cultural heritage, its legal and policy framework, as well as recent initiatives aimed at safeguarding and valorising traditional knowledge and cultural expressions through intellectual property instruments.

The presentation included the following elements:

Brief information about Romania

• EU Member State since 1 January 2007
• Borders: Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, the Black Sea
• Area: 238,391 sq km
• Relief: 33% mountains (the Carpathians), 33% hills, 33% plains and the Danube Delta
• Population: 19,053,815 inhabitants
• Nationalities: 89.3% Romanians, as well as Hungarians, Germans, Polish, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Russians, Turks, Greeks, Armenians, etc. (around 19 ethnic groups)
• Capital: Bucharest (2,158,758 inhabitants)
• Official language: Romanian (Latin origin)
• Free compulsory general education

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Human beings in Romania

• Some of the oldest humanoid remains in Europe – approximately 2 million years old (Bugiulești, Vâlcea County)
• Some of the oldest modern human remains in Europe – approximately 40,000 years old (Peștera cu Oase / Cave with Bones)
• Some of the oldest cave paintings in the world, approximately 35,000 years old, at Coliboaia Cave
• The oldest permanent settlement in Europe (Schela Cladovei on the Danube)

Turdaș–Vinča and Cucuteni Civilizations

• Among the oldest civilizations in Europe (approximately 8,000 years old)
• Population involved in agriculture, animal breeding, and the manufacture of tools and weapons
• Knowledge of working with copper, silver, and gold
• The Cucuteni civilization is famous for its high-quality ceramics; many symbols decorated on various objects are still used worldwide thousands of years later

Tărtăria Tablets

• Perhaps the oldest written message of humanity (around 7,000 years old), while oral tradition remains extremely rich and well preserved

Legendary creations based on Romanian TCEs

• Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, based on an old Romanian myth
• Reference to Vlad Țepeș (the Impaler), voivode of Wallachia (1456–1462, 1477)

Romania in UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

• Călușul
• Doina
• Horezu Ceramics
• Colindatul (Christmas carolling)
• Lad’s Dances
• Traditional techniques of carpet making
• Mărțișor

Legendary creations inspired by Romanian TCEs

• Constantin Brâncuși’s works (The Endless Column, The Gate of the Kiss, The Table of Silence)
• Garment continuation (Romanian blouse – “ie”, Beiuș sheepskin vest)

Romanian Constitution – Article 33: Access to Culture

1. Access to culture is guaranteed under the terms of the law.
2. The freedom of the person to develop his/her spirituality and to access the values of national and universal culture cannot be restricted.
3. The State must ensure the preservation of spiritual identity, support national culture, stimulate the arts, protect and preserve cultural heritage, develop contemporary creativity, and promote Romania’s cultural and artistic values worldwide.

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TCEs from an Intellectual Property Perspective in Romania

• Article 7 of Law No. 8/1996 provides protection for genuine intellectual creations in the literary, artistic or scientific field, regardless of the manner of their creation, form of expression, value, or purpose.
• Article 95 specifies that performers include actors, singers, musicians, dancers, or any other persons who present, sing, dance, imitate, recite, play, interpret, direct, conduct or perform a literary or artistic work, including folk performances.
• These provisions expressly offer copyright protection to artistic, literary or scientific subject matter, including TCEs fixed on various supports.

The National Strategy on Intellectual Property 2024–2028

Strategic Objective No. 2: Stimulating the innovative and creative capacity of the Romanian economic, research and creative environment.

Priorities:

• Promotion of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources.

Directions of action:

1. Involvement in new developments in the field of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources at European and international level.
2. Establishment, in partnership with central or local administrative bodies, of training programs aimed at professional reconversion in order to valorise the ethnographic potential of disadvantaged areas.

Project : “Supporting cultural sustainability and economic revitalization in the Beiuș Country Region of Romania through the protection and promotion of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions”

• Implemented by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), at the request of the Romanian Copyright Office (ORDA) and the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM), in collaboration with a national expert from the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI).
• Carried out over a period of 14 months, until December 2025, aiming to bring benefits to local communities in Țara Beiușului by protecting and promoting traditional practices and local knowledge through intellectual property instruments.
• Pilot project aiming to strengthen the capacity of communities to protect and promote their traditions and cultural heritage; encourage the creation and development of social and sustainable entrepreneurship in the region by capitalizing on cultural and natural heritage; stimulate economic growth and stability; and ensure the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage for future generations.

Beneficiaries:

• Local communities in Țara Beiușului, especially those practicing crafts and activities based on traditional practices, techniques, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.
• Local authorities and cultural institutions in Țara Beiușului working to preserve and valorize the cultural and natural heritage of the region.
• The project also serves as a model for other regions in Romania facing similar challenges.

The project provided educational and capacity-building workshops, materials and expert support.

It was structured in five key phases:

1. Analysis of IP challenges and opportunities for communities in Țara Beiușului
2. Mapping of traditions, traditional practices and traditional knowledge with economic potential in the region
3. Organization of practical thematic workshops
4. Development of an IP strategy based on the needs of local communities and with their direct involvement
5. Identification and dissemination of good practices from the pilot project for replication in other communities in the country and abroad

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Recommendations for Administrative Measures and Capacity-Building Actions Supporting the Implementation of an IP Strategy for the Protection and Promotion of TK and TCEs in Țara Beiușului

• Documentation of TK and TCEs
• Copyright and sui generis database protection for TK and TCE databases developed by local communities
• Policy proposal for the creation of sui generis positive protection for TK and TCEs cultural IP protection in Romania
• Creation and dissemination of an educational curriculum on collective IP, with particular emphasis on TK and TCEs and social entrepreneurship business models
• Creation of an Intracommunity Association for Development comprising the municipality of Beiuș and the cities and communes in Țara Beiușului to support the promotion of TK and TCEs in the region

Establishment of a local expert group mandated with:

• The elaboration of lists of words, names, graphic representations of TK and TCEs and other visual representations that should not be subject to individual IP rights registration
• The enforcement of defensive protection measures when necessary

Drafting by the Municipality of Beiuș, in partnership with all interested communes in Țara Beiușului, of a financial strategy for promoting TK and TCEs and stimulating TK- and TCE-based social enterprise creation.

Practical workshops were organized on 19–20 May with custodians of TK and TCEs from Țara Beiușului.

Objective:

• Consolidating knowledge in the field of intellectual property with the aim of developing a strategy for protection through IP and promotion of traditions and crafts in the region.

Delegation representatives discussed the potential protection of TK and TCEs through collective marks and sui generis protection options, elements taken into account in the development of the IP strategy.

Draft Intellectual Property Strategy for the Protection and Promotion of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions and Supporting Cultural Sustainability in Țara Beiușului, Romania

Drafted by the local expert Monica Boța Moisin from Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI) in consultation with the Association “Custodians of Traditional Cultural Knowledge and Expressions from Țara Beiușului”, ORDA and OSIM.

Objectives:

• Ensuring the recognition, protection and valorization of TK and TCEs of local communities in Țara Beiușului through institutional mechanisms adapted to their realities, needs and values.

Aim:

• Contributing to the consolidation of the economic stability of the communities, as well as promoting an ethical and equitable framework for the commercial use of intangible heritage, in accordance with collective rights and customary rules.

Pilot approach at national level, representing the first IP strategy in Romania created in direct and effective consultation with a community of custodians of TK and TCEs.

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Purposes of the Strategy

• Creating an operational framework for the recognition of collective custody of TK and TCEs in Țara Beiușului
• Familiarizing communities of custodians with options and mechanisms that allow them to decide on access to and use of their heritage under conditions of prior, informed and freely expressed consent
• Supporting economic development in the communities by valorizing goods and services based on TK and TCEs
• Developing the capacity of communities to negotiate with external actors (private companies, researchers, institutions) and benefit economically through trademarks, geographical indications or other forms of protection
• Preventing non-compliant exploitation and cultural appropriation by developing mechanisms for monitoring, intervention and defense of community interests
• Promoting active participation of communities in public policy processes regarding research, education and creative industries

Envisaged Benefits of the Strategy

Encouraging Fair and Inclusive Cultural Tourism

• Development of local tourism initiatives where communities become key actors in designing and delivering cultural experiences
• Direct income through local initiatives (authentic products, craft workshops, tourist guides, gastronomy courses)
• Direct economic benefits through authentic valorization of crafts and traditions

Intercultural Education and Intergenerational Transmission

• Integration of TK and TCEs into educational systems while respecting oral and customary forms of learning
• Development of educational resources created and managed by custodians (databases, schools of local knowledge and crafts, traveling exhibitions)
• Building bridges between generations by promoting craftspeople, creators and storytellers as cultural educators

Creative Industries and Sustainable Fashion

• Providing a framework for equitable partnerships between designers and communities
• Protection against cultural misappropriation and abusive commercialization
• Strengthening the local economy by integrating communities into creative industry value chains

Needs for the Protection of TK and TCEs

1. Recognition of the role of custodian of TK and TCEs and the deriving prerogatives
2. Protection of the authenticity of TCEs and traditional craft products from Țara Beiușului through collective IP instruments
3. Protection of distinctive elements of TK and TCEs through collective IP instruments
4. Prevention of the acquisition of individual IP rights regarding names, motifs, symbols and distinctive elements of TK and TCEs
5. Prevention of misappropriation, unauthorized use and copying of TK and TCEs

Priorities for the Development of the Strategy

1. Collective organization of custodians of TK and TCEs in Țara Beiușului
2. Registration of collective intellectual property instruments for authentic TK and TCEs involved in commercial activities
3. Development of defensive protection mechanisms preventing unauthorized appropriation
4. Establishment of an association of administrative territorial units in Țara Beiușului to promote cultural sustainability
5. Protection of the name Țara Beiușului and other names eligible for protection through geographical indications under EU Regulation 2023/2411

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Several Key Aspects

1. Establishment of a legal structure for cultural governance: The Association of Custodians of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions in Țara Beiușului – the first organization with this profile in Romania.

This structure provides the framework for:

• collective representation of custodians in relation to public authorities and external partners
• management of collective intellectual property rights
• participation in sustainable cultural development initiatives and socio-cultural entrepreneurship

1. Constant involvement of local authorities from the pilot communes and Beiuș Municipality.
2. Involvement and support from central public authorities (ORDA and OSIM).
3. Presence of a local expert specialized in IP law and the protection of TK and TCEs.
4. Support from WIPO for the implementation of the pilot project “Supporting cultural sustainability and economic revitalization in the Beiuș Country Region of Romania through the protection and promotion of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions”.

Author : Cristian Florescu

Head of International Department

The Romanian Copyright Office (ORDA)