Volume : IV, Issue : III, March - 2015

PROTECTING INDIAN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Suvrashis Sarkar

Abstract :

Traditional knowledge has always played an important role and will continue to do so in creating a competitive advantage for India, primarily since the rich indigenous knowledge of communities is the country’s core competency. Knowledge such as of Ayurveda, Yoga, use of Neem and Turmeric for medicinal purpose, etc. existed in the indigenous communities of India since generations. However, attempts by some individuals and countries to claim ownership by exploiting these traditional knowledge of Indian origin, has raised concerns. The concern emerges from the fact that a large number of patents have been granted for traditional knowledge related inventions that do not fulfill the novelty criteria if the “traditional knowledge” is taken into consideration as “prior art”. The term “prior art” refers to any published content available in the public domain before the filing date of a patent application. Protection of the Traditional Knowledge of the indigenous communities seems to be one of the most argumentative issue. The historical development of the protection of intellectual property in the wake of individual private property rights, pushed, the traditional knowledge and the innovative practice based on it outside the purview of the formal intellectual property protection regime. This calls for a comprehensive strategy with community, national, regional and international dimensions. This framework should ensure that the control over biological resources rest with the local community and that they receive adequate compensation when these resources are utilized by outsiders. In the light of the prevalent loss and threatened future of traditional knowledge, it is important to preserve it in a format that would be useful for future generations, to protect its knowledge from misuse and utilize it for better development. This paper attempts to highlight some major initiatives that aim at preserving andsafeguarding traditional knowledge as intellectual property

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijsr  

Cite This Article:

Suvrashis Sarkar Protecting Indian Traditional Knowledge as Intellectual Property International Journal of Scientific Research, Vol : 4, Issue : 3 March 2015

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