Arising from recent developments at the international level, many developing countries, indigenous peoples and local communities are considering using geographical indications (GIs) to protect traditional knowledge, and to promote trade and overall economic development. Despite the considerable enthusiasm over GIs in diverse quarters, there is an appreciable lack of research on how far and in what context GIs can be used as a protection model for traditional knowledge-based resources. This book critically examines the potential uses of geographical indications as models for protecting traditional knowledge-based products and resources in national and international intellectual property legal frameworks. By analysing the reception towards GIs from developing countries and advocates of development in the various legal and non-legal regimes (including the World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, and the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Food and Agricultural Organization), the book evaluates the development potential of GIs in relation to ensuing changes in international intellectual property law in accommodating traditional knowledge. Teshager W. Dagne argues for a degree of balance in the approach to the implementation of global intellectual property rights in a manner that gives developing countries an opportunity to protect traditional knowledge-based products. The book will be of great interest and use to scholars and students of intellectual property law, public international law, traditional knowledge, and global governance.

International developments since the mid-1990s have signalled an awareness of the importance and validity of traditional knowledge and cultural property. The adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the establishment of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore demonstrate an emerging trend towards the recognition of the rights of communities and the importance of culture in shaping international law and policy. This book examines how developments to protect collectively held knowledge transpose to circumstances which may not meet the usually understood criteria of what is considered to be an indigenous or traditional group. This includes communally derived cultural products which have emerged out of communities and subsequently formed a part of the national or popular culture. The book considers the steel pan of Trinidad and Tobago, punta rock music from Belize, Brazilian capoeira, and the cajón of Peru as key cases studies of this. By exploring the impact of past and recent international developments to protect traditional knowledge, Sharon Le Gall highlights a category of cultural signifiers which lies outside the scope of intellectual property protection, as well as the protection proposed for traditional knowledge and advocated for intangible cultural property. The book proposes a reinterpretation of Joseph Raz’s interest theory of group rights in order to accommodate the rights advocated for collectively derived cultural signifiers on the basis of their value as symbols of identity. In doing so, Le Gall offers an original account of how those signifiers, which may not be described as exclusively ‘traditional’ or ‘indigenous’ and held in ways which are not ‘traditional’ or ‘customary’, may be accommodated in emerging traditional knowledge laws.

This book is a very significant contribution to the question of protecting traditional cultural expressions. . . It is filled with fascinating ideas and perspectives that challenge the reader to rethink the law once again. Jamil Ammar, European Intellectual Property Review Legal protection for traditional cultural expressions is an area of contemporary policy making characterized by widespread concern and considerable controversy. Intellectual property scholars have a dire need for informed perspectives on the history of this subject area and the lucid commentary on its social and political implications that the authors of these cogent interdisciplinary essays provide. This impressive volume promises to be quickly acknowledged as an indispensable guide to the issues in this field. Rosemary J. Coombe, York University, Canada The first wave of scholarship on cultural appropriation was often better at denunciation than at grappling with the complexities of cultural heritage and its protection. Intellectual Property and Traditional Cultural Expressions in a Digital Environment launches a second wave: nuanced, interdisciplinary, looking past accusation toward flexible solutions. For all that, it is no less committed to social justice. By bringing together leading-edge scholarship from law, the arts, communications, anthropology, history, and philosophy, the editors have taken research on heritage protection to the next level of sophistication. Michael F. Brown, Williams College, US and author of Who Owns Native Culture? In the face of increasing globalisation, and a collision between global communication systems and local traditions, this book offers innovative trans-disciplinary analyses of the value of traditional cultural expressions (TCE) and suggests appropriate protection mechanisms for them. It combines approaches from history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology and law, and charts previously untravelled paths for developing new policy tools and legal designs that go beyond conventional copyright models. Its authors extend their reflections to a consideration of the specific features of the digital environment, which, despite enhancing the risks of misappropriation of traditional knowledge and creativity, may equally offer new opportunities for revitalising indigenous peoples values and provide for the sustainability of TCE. This book will appeal to scholars interested in multidisciplinary analyses of the fragmentation of international law in the field of intellectual property and traditional cultural expressions. It will also be valuable reading for those working on broader governance and human rights issues.

Geographical indications of origin of intellectual property rights in Indonesia.

..This Guide intends to provide information for policy-makers, heads of intellectual property (IP) offices, and other decision-makers in countries in transition, on issues they need to consider before putting a legal framework in place. It aims to raise awareness of existing methods for the legal protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as to improve understanding of the interrelations, at international, regional and national levels, between the IP system, on the one hand, and traditional knowledge/traditional cultural expressions and their implications for economic, social, cultural and technical development, on the other hand.

Traditional knowledge is largely oral collective of knowledge, beliefs, and practices of indigenous people on sustainable use and management of resources. The survival of this knowledge is at risk due to various difficulties faced by the holders of this knowledge, the threat to the cultural survival of many communities, and the international lack of respect and appreciation of traditional knowledge. However, the greatest threat is that of appropriation by commercial entities in derogation of the rights of the original holders. Though this practice is morally questionable, in the absence of specific legal provisions, it cannot be regarded as a crime. Intellectual Property Rights and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge is a collection of innovative research on methods for protecting indigenous knowledge including studies on intellectual property rights and sovereignty rights. It also analyzes the contrasting interests of developing and developed countries in the protection of traditional knowledge as an asset. While highlighting topics including biopiracy, dispute resolution, and patent law, this book is ideally designed for legal experts, students, industry professionals, and practitioners seeking current research on the development and enforcement of intellectual property rights in relation to traditional knowledge.

This Brief summarizes the legal, policy and operational issues that need to be considered in developing a national strategy for the intellectual property protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2006 in the subject Law - Comparative Legal Systems, Comparative Law, grade: A-, Victoria University of Wellington (Faculty of Law), 47 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Indigenous people often know a lot about the healing properties or other useful characteristics of their indigenous plants. This knowledge usually has been passed on within the indigenous community from generation to generation and is therefore regarded as traditional knowledge. This traditional knowledge is of great value for the pharmaceutical industry. Accordingly, it has been explored, used as the basis for subsequently patented in-ventions, and sometimes misappropriated by pharmaceutical companies from the "developed" world. This essay seeks to provide an overview of the problems and issues that arise where traditional knowl-edge meets the "Western" intellectual property regime. The questions that are sought to be answered are: Why should traditional knowledge be protected as intellectual property and how could this be done? Many approaches have been made, both on an international and a national level. Several of these solutions will be presented and discussed in this essay. It will be seen that already existing intellectual property rights are not suitable for the protection of traditional knowledge. Compared with this, the implementation of safeguards within patent applica-tion proceedings seems to be more appropriate and effective. However, this approach turns out to be not com-prehensive enough. Therefore, this essay recommends the protection of traditional knowledge by an intellectual property right sui generis, specially designed for that purpose. This solution is favourable because it is the most complete one, is able to address all issues in an appropriate way, and can strike a balance between the involved conflicting interests.

FFM to West Africa

Among the many contentious matters thrown up by the relentless march of economic globalization, those forms of knowledge variously known as 'indigenous' or 'traditional' remain seriously threatened, despite numerous transnational initiatives and highly publicized debate. It is not proving easy to bring these holistic worldviews into accordance with the technical terms and classifications of intellectual property law. The contributions in this volume contrast efforts to find solutions and workable models at the international and regional level with experiences on the ground. Legal policies related to 'indigenous knowledge' in settler societies such as Australia and New Zealand are compared with those in densely populated neighbouring countries in Asia, where traditional knowledge is often regarded as national heritage. While many of the chapters are written by lawyers using an interdisciplinary approach, other chapters introduce the reader to perspectives from disciplines such as legal sociology and anthropology on controversial issues such as the understandings of 'art, ' 'culture, ' 'tradition, ' 'customary law' and the opportunities for traditional cultural knowledge and traditional cultural expressions in an Internet environment. Experienced observers of the international debate and regional experts discuss international model laws as well as legislation at regional and national level and the role of customary law. Topics covered include the following and much more: the concept of 'farmers' rights'; biodiscovery and bioprospecting; traditional knowledge as a commodity; encounters between different legalities; geographical indications; registration requirements; sanctions, remedies, and dispute resolution mechanisms; the ongoing fragmentation and loss of traditional knowledge; and systems of data collection.