Article
What Do Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Have to Do with Intellectual Property Rights?
Landslide Magazine
(2017)
Abstract
Who can claim a right to yoga, to the use of the Hoodia cactus plant for weight loss, or to the use of turmeric for healing?1 Should commercial entities be able to use the designs and names of indigenous groups to market their products?2 Some consider this to be the “common heritage of mankind,” but not everyone agrees. In particular, the communities that generate this knowledge consider it to be part of their cultural heritage.3 The ongoing debate about traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions in relation to intellectual property centers on whether the knowledge and cultural representations of indigenous and local peoples, as well as their names, are free for all to use—even for commercial enterprises seeking to profit from the use. Traditional knowledge, as will be explained in more detail below, refers to intergenerational knowledge and practices that pertain to an identifiable community.
Keywords
- Intellectual Property,
- Traditional knowledge
Disciplines
Publication Date
2017
Citation Information
Janewa Osei Tutu. "What Do Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions Have to Do with Intellectual Property Rights?" Landslide Magazine Vol. 9 Iss. 4 (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/joseitutu/16/