Friday, May 09, 2008 Protection of folklore By Clint Fabiosa & Andrew Ong I protect
FOLKLORE is the body of expressive culture, which includes tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth, within a particular population comprising the traditions (including oral traditions) of that culture, subculture or group.
Like traditional knowledge, folklore also has to be protected as intellectual property. In the Philippines, intellectual property laws are made available to indigenous individuals and peoples who meet the appropriate criteria for such legal protection.
The exchange of views on traditional knowledge and expressions of folklore ought to be continuously supported because they contain a wide variety of knowledge unique only to the Philippines or in a particular area. As an example, Visayan folklore is replete with tales and legends. Among the oft-told tales are legends about the first man and woman, the origin of the Cebuano patron saint Santo Niño as driftwood fished from the sea, and the origin of the Chocolate Hills of Bohol as strewn pearls.
