Browsing by Subject "Traditional Knowledge"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
Biodiversity Laws as a Means to Protect Traditional Knowledge: Issues, Challenges and Success Stories
(University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Singh, Sonal
India is a country rich in biodiversity. The associated traditional knowledge has been an important part of Indian culture and society. Being a diversity rich spot, India has been victim of bio-piracy several times, though it has learnt its lessons from haldi, neem and basmati incidents. While it is important for countries to conserve its biodiversity and associated indigenous knowledge, it is also important to protect rights of those who add value to it and make its use more extensive through the tools of intellectual property rights. This results in conflict between biodiversity conservation and intellectual property rights. Biodiversity conservation conventions and statutes seek to achieve a balance between the rights of both. In India, the Biodiversity Act, 2002 provides for requirement of prior informed consent of the indigenous communities before accessing and using the concerned bio-resource. It also provides legal framework to ensure benefit sharing in various forms in case any intellectual property is obtained on the bioresource or the relevant traditional knowledge. However, effective implementation of the same remains a challenge. This ultimately deprives the actual holders of the concerned traditional knowledge who have either nurtured the bio-resources for years. This paper discusses the framework of biodiversity conservation laws as a means to protect rights of traditional knowledge holders in the international and Indian context. It highlights instances where legal framework has been successful in protecting rights of traditional knowledge holders. It also discusses various issues and challenges in protection of traditional knowledge in India.
Open Access
Protection of traditional knowledge in India by sui generis laws of geographic indications and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge Bill, 2022
(University of North Bengal, 2022-09) Chakrabarty, Shambhu Prasad; Rodricks, Abhisekh
This research paper explores the potential of protecting Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCE) under the modern Intellectual Property Law Regime with special reference to Geographical Indications (GI). It also highlights the process of registering GI under the Indian GI legislation with special regard to ancestral knowledge. The paper also highlights the limitations of GI protection concerning protecting TK/TCE as a whole. Protecting TK has always been a challenge under the modern legal system, and this limitation has irretrievably damaged this knowledge base. Efforts have been made to preserve and protect TK through IPR, but this approach achieved very limited success. The absence of TK protection as a whole by TRIPS has left a sui generis approach to protecting TK. The proposed Protection of TK Bill 2022 could be criticised at length, including the absence of synchronisation between Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) safeguards, including GI as a mode of protecting TK has also been noticed. This research paper identifies some of the TK that has been protected under the GI Act in India encourages the indigenous and tribal peoples to explore the limited potential of GI protection to their ancestral knowledge. It also assists the legislature in reconsidering certain aspects of the Protection of the TK Bill, 2022.
Open Access
Role of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Eco System Services: Time to Look into the Pages of the Past for an Answer
(University of North Bengal, 2020-09) Chakrabarty, Shambhu Prasad
Indigenous and tribal communities all across the world have taken care of the natural resources they have been living in for centuries. The various traditional knowledge's have transferred through generations and has been following them as ancestral knowledge. A lot many efforts have been made by these communities and serious contributions have been made in eco-system services by them. Their life has been sustainable and have respected natural resources more than their greed. Research has unraveled various method of similar eco system services which have been documented and practices till date. This practice requires to be imitated specially in jurisdictions with many indigenous, aboriginal and tribal communities specially in the area of conservation of indigenous medicines and water resources.
Open Access
Social Transformation and Its Impact on Traditional Knowledge
(University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Wangchuk Bhutia, Jigmee
As the society, so the Traditional Knowledge. with the change in society there is a change in Traditional Knowledge. Traditional Knowledge is shaped in accordance with the time and need of the society. There is a close relation between Traditional Knowledge and Social Transformation. With the society evolving towards modernization, Traditional Knowledge being a living knowledge which evolves with the society and the people is also evolving towards modern knowledge. The nature can be regarded as a laboratory where the experiment of the Traditional Knowledge takes place. Earlier, Traditional Knowledge was not universal at all, there was traditional system of protection and traditional system for the grant of permission to access it but now due to globalization, there is more chances of misappropriation and Traditional Knowledge is not safe. India is amongst the nations who is very rich in terms of Traditional Knowledge and in India, most of the population still depends on Traditional medicinal system. With the acceptance of globalization, it is high time India should take proper step for the protection of Traditional Knowledge. Traditional Knowledge is categorized under the Intellectual Property Rights, and if it is not provided proper protection then someone else under the Intellectual Property Rights will protect it and the community who owns it will loss the ownership rights.