Category Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge

UPOV Holds Weeklong Meetings As Civil Society Publishes Restricted Documents

This week the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is holding the annual meeting of its governing body, and preparatory meetings leading up to it. A seminar also is being held on essentially derived varieties. Meanwhile, civil society is asking that all the meeting documents be held public while demonstrating that restricted documents can be obtained through national freedom of information rights.

Perplexed About International Policy On GR, TK and TCEs? Here’s A Book

Two scientists with a connection to Geneva have published an unorthodox e-book entitled, Guide for the perplexed entering the Maze of Genetic Resources Traditional Knowledge and Folklore.

Nagoya Protocol Halfway To Required Number Of Accessions

According to the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, five new ratifications have brought the 2010 treaty on the protection of genetic resources closer to ratification.

WIPO Assembly Approves New Work Mandate On GR, TK Protection

The World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly today renewed the mandate of its committee working on the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. The full membership approved a deal reached in an informal session on 27 September, and statements made today showed that profound differences remain.

WIPO Members Reach Tentative Deal On TK Treaties; External Offices Mired

World Intellectual Property Organization members this evening reached a hard-won preliminary agreement on a path to a high-level negotiation of treaties or other instruments for the protection of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources. The tentative deal, reached in informal meetings, creates an intensive work programme for the next year and a final decision in September 2014. The plan will have to go before the full WIPO membership in plenary as soon as Monday.

Urgent Need To Shift Away From Industrial Agriculture, Says UN Agency

A recent report by a United Nations agency calls for an urgent shift of paradigm in agricultural development.

Global IP Debate Over Rooibos Intensifies As More Claims Surface

In light of increasing attempts to trademark the South African product rooibos, rooibos tea industry stakeholders are considering a call for an audit of the product’s trademarks registered in the world, in order to inform the best strategy to protect it as a unique South African product.

WIPO To Hold Teach-In On Value Of IP System To Indigenous Peoples

The World Intellectual Property Organization has scheduled a workshop in December to teach indigenous peoples the value of the intellectual property system in protecting their knowledge and resources.

South Africa Moves Toward New IP Policy; Rooibos Industry Seeks Protection

CAPE TOWN - The South African National Intellectual Property Policy is expected to be published this month, after a much-anticipated wait to see what shape and form the policy has given intellectual property rights in the country.

Interviews: What Protection Of Traditional Knowledge Means To Indigenous Peoples

World Intellectual Property Organization member states in July concluded the biennium work of the committee tasked with finding agreement on international legal tools to prevent misappropriation and misuse of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore. Indigenous peoples and local communities are holders of a substantial part of this knowledge and are demanding that it be protected against misappropriation but also against its use without their consent. Intellectual Property Watch recently conducted two interviews on the issue with different indigenous groups.