Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of abbreviations
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The main problems
- Part II The protection of genetic resources in intellectual property law
- Part III The protection of traditional knowledge in the international patent system
- 4 Towards clearer legal definitions
- 5 The construction of an access- and benefit-sharing regime and intellectual property issues: criteria and options
- 6 The defensive protection of traditional knowledge in international patent law
- 7 Positive protection of traditional knowledge
- 8 Final observations
- Index
- Cambridge Cultural Social Studies
- References
4 - Towards clearer legal definitions
from Part III - The protection of traditional knowledge in the international patent system
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of abbreviations
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The main problems
- Part II The protection of genetic resources in intellectual property law
- Part III The protection of traditional knowledge in the international patent system
- 4 Towards clearer legal definitions
- 5 The construction of an access- and benefit-sharing regime and intellectual property issues: criteria and options
- 6 The defensive protection of traditional knowledge in international patent law
- 7 Positive protection of traditional knowledge
- 8 Final observations
- Index
- Cambridge Cultural Social Studies
- References
Summary
An intellectual property approach to the concept of traditional knowledge
TK, by gaining importance, has become the new buzzword for IP law. In an attempt to define TK with the view of eventual protection in mind, the WIPO IGC on IPGRTKF of the WIPO uses the term to refer to “tradition-based literary, artistic or scientific works; performances; inventions; scientific discoveries; designs; marks, names and symbols; undisclosed information; and, all other tradition-based innovations and creations resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields.”
The notion “tradition-based” refers to knowledge systems, creations, innovations, and cultural expressions “which have generally been transmitted from generation to generation; are generally regarded as pertaining to a particular people or its territory; have generally been developed in a non-systematic way; and, are constantly evolving in response to a changing environment.” TK in everyday life is governed by a series of holistic and dynamic local and indigenous customary laws and where there is no distinction between the sacred and secular. This holistic outlook on life accounts for the way these communities operate with a sacred notion of the inherent “one-ness” between man and the natural order, where all living things are interrelated and interdependent. There follows from this view a pervasive respect for the environment and an acute sensitivity to its agricultural and medicinal qualities. Such communities have evolved complex relationships with their surroundings, often expressed through totemic relationships with various species and religious ceremonies involving the celebration of the human–nature interaction.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Protection of Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge in International Law of Intellectual Property , pp. 91 - 102Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009