Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights: A Note on Issues, Some Solutions and Some Suggestions

Abstract

This article discusses the issues in intellectual property protection for traditional knowledge. After discussing the definitional issues in traditional knowledge, it examines the current global debates on this issue. It identifies some solutions and provides an analysis of the solutions. It then highlights the north-south divide in this issue and the predicament of the south in finding an acceptable solution. It ends with some suggestions for arriving at a solution and argues that there is a need to go beyond intellectual property rights to resolve this issue.

Keywords: traditional knowledge, intellectual property right, cultural diversity, CBD, TRIPS Agreement, Disclosure of Origin, sui generis, bio-piracy