Resource: WIPO revised draft articles on traditional knowledge

The Protection of Traditional Knowledge: Draft Articles (Rev. 2)
WIPO, May 2013

The latest revision of the draft articles on traditional knowledge, as noted at the close of the 24th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is available online. The document includes changes to the policy objectives and the guiding principles, Articles 1, 2, 3 and 6, according to comments made during IGC 24. Download the draft articles [pdf] …

 

Meeting prep: UNU-IAS events on the Nagoya Protocol, GIAHS

The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol: Why Intellectual Property Still Matters
17 May 2013 (UNU-IAS, Yokohama, Japan)

This seminar by Kiyoshi Adachi from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will highlight recent work by UNCTAD on the policy space available for countries to use selected intellectual property tools in support of the international access and benefit-sharing system. Further information …

Experiences and Lessons of Dynamic Conservation and Sustainable Development  from Asian GIAHS Pilot Sites
28 May 2013 (UNU-IAS, Kanazawa, Japan)

Six pilot sites in China and two in Japan have been designated by FAO as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites for dynamic conservation and adaptive management. In addition, more sites in China and Japan are under consideration for GIAHS designation, and an application is also planned for a Korean site. This workshop will bring together experts from China, Korea and Japan, as well as local residents, to share experiences and lessons learned regarding biodiversity conservation and rural development. Further information …

 

This week in review … South Africa to launch national TK recording system

South Africa to Launch National Traditional Knowledge Recording System
IP Watch, 10 May 2013

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: On 24 May, South Africa will be launching its National Recordal System aiming to catalogue its indigenous knowledge. The National Recordal System is an initiative of the South African Department of Science and Technology, with the ultimate goal of creating opportunities “for benefits to flow back to the communities.” The NRS includes the establishment of indigenous knowledge networks, provincial Indigenous Knowledge Systems Documentation Centers and an Information Communication Technology knowledge platform. It will be interactive, and benefit-sharing agreement forms will be accessible online. Read the article … Further information on the NRS …

 

This week in review … ICTSD piece comments on WIPO IGC negotiations on TK

WIPO Negotiators Make Headway on Draft Instrument on Traditional Knowledge
ICTSD Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, 2 May 2013

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: The 22-26 April meeting of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) saw delegates work in informal and small drafting groups in order to whittle down a text fraught with brackets. Though some parts of the text – such as the definition of traditional knowledge – appear to have fewer brackets than before, the document still reflects important disagreements between countries on core issues. One particularly contentious issue under “scope of protection” continues to be a mandatory disclosure requirement in patent applications regarding the origin of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. Another issue that turned heated during the discussions was whether traditional knowledge found in the public domain or that is known and used outside the community is eligible for protection. Read the article …

 

Meeting review: WIPO IGC 24

Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore: 24th session
22-26 April 2013 (Geneva, Switzerland)

Focusing on traditional knowledge, the 24th session of the WIPO IGC was marked by intense substantive examination of four fundamental issues: defining “traditional knowledge”; identifying the beneficiaries of protection; framing the scope of rights; and defining appropriate exceptions and limitations. Following a review of the draft articles on TK in plenary, the IGC established an informal expert group with up to six experts per region and two indigenous experts, which worked on the core issues with a view to reducing the number of options and streamlining the text. The improved draft text of an international legal instrument on intellectual property and traditional knowledge, as reviewed by plenary on Friday, 26 April, will be transmitted to the WIPO General Assembly, which will meet from 23 September to 2 October 2013. The General Assembly will take stock of progress made and decide on convening a diplomatic conference. According to IP Watch, most participants agreed that progress has been achieved on cleaning up the text, although consensus has not been met on core issues. Three additional texts that were tabled by groups of developed countries, including two recommendations on genetic resources and associated TK, and on the use of databases for TK protection, and terms of reference for a study on the merits of mandatory disclosure requirements, were rejected by developing countries as attempts to side-track negotiations on the draft articles.

WIPO IGC 24 was preceded by a three-day indigenous expert workshop, co-organized by the WIPO Secretariat and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The workshop provided valuable input to the preparations of the indigenous representatives during the session. IGC 24 then began with an indigenous panel, which focused specifically on the perspectives of indigenous peoples with respect to their right to maintain, control, protect, and develop their intellectual property over traditional knowledge. The WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities funded two indigenous and local community participants at the session. IGC participants were reminded however by the Chair and the Secretariat that the Voluntary Fund is in dire need of new contributions. WIPO IGC 25, which will address the theme of traditional cultural expressions, and provide an additional three days for stock-taking, will take place from 15-24 July 2013.

Read the IGC 24 update by the WIPO Secretariat … Read the meeting’s documents … Read the meeting’s decisions … Download the revised draft articles on TK [pdf] … Read the IP Watch article of 28 April … Read the IP Watch article of 26 April … Read the IP Watch article of 24 April …

 

This week in review … UNCTAD expert meeting addresses IP and ABS, provides feedback to draft handbook

UNCTAD: IPRs in Health, Research, Cosmetics, Meet Access and Benefit Sharing
IP Watch, 29 April 2013

UNCTAD Handbook: IP and the CBD Protocol on Genetic Resources
IP Watch, 30 April 2013

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: The interactions between intellectual property and international rules of global access and benefit-sharing (ABS) were explored recently by an expert group meeting, convened by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 16-17 April 2013. Several panels held under the Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting on the Development Dimensions of Intellectual Property: Biological Diversity and Access and Benefit Sharing shed light on IP and ABS in particular areas, such as natural ingredients used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and pandemic influenza preparedness. Among many speakers, Johanna von Braun, attorney-at-law for Natural Justice, presented cases of misappropriation of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and challenges to prevent that misappropriation. She advised that ABS contracts should be well drafted to ensure certainty on what happens to the resources when they leave the country, and said that local communities need capacity building in order to be aware of their rights and be able to negotiate.

The meeting also served to provide feedback on a draft handbook on the Nagoya Protocol on ABS and the international intellectual property system, to be published by UNCTAD later this year. The draft handbook addresses the sources of international law, disclosure of origin, the patentability of life forms, limitations and exceptions to IP laws, positive protection of traditional knowledge, costs and benefits of geographical indications, and private contract law.

Read the article of 29 April … Read the article of 30 April …

 

Resource: IIED report on collective trademarks and biocultural heritage in the Potato Park, Peru

Collective trademarks and biocultural heritage: towards new indications of distinction for indigenous peoples in the Potato Park, Peru
Alejandro Argumedo
IIED, March 2013 | ISBN 978-1-84369-907-1

This paper presents the experience of the Potato Park communities in Cusco, Peru, in applying for formal protection through a collective trademark, and also in adopting an informal trademark for their products and services. The process of registering the collective trademark brought to light the incompatibility of the registration requirements with Peruvian law on indigenous governance, and the application was unsuccessful. The Potato Park communities have instead opted to use their trademark informally, and it is now widely recognised as a distinctive symbol of the Park. A survey found that as well as raising prices and increasing sales, the mark has helped to ensure social cohesion. However, while the trademark is informal, it lacks protection. Furthermore, experience shows that existing intellectual property tools tend to be unsuitable for protecting communities’ collective intellectual property, and even “soft” intellectual property tools such as collective trademarks and geographical indications can be beyond the legal and financial capacity of remote rural communities. The report concludes with a proposal for an alternative indigenous “biocultural heritage indication” which could draw on geographical indications, design rights and unfair competition law. Such a tool could open up the current IPR system to rural communities, alleviating poverty while protecting traditional knowledge, and strengthening biological and cultural diversity. Download the report [pdf] …

 

This week in review … EurActiv reports on European Parliament discussions on draft ABS regulation

EU ponders biopiracy law to protect indigenous people
EurActiv, 26 April 2013

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: A European Commission proposal for an EU regulation on access and benefit-sharing (ABS) is currently debated by the European Parliament. Rapporteur and Green MEP Sandrine Bélier cited as an example of ABS a German pharmaceutical company’s dealings in South Africa: Pelargonium sidoides, a variety of geranium known for its antimicrobial and expectorant qualities, has been used traditionally by indigenous communities in South Africa for centuries to treat bronchitis and other respiratory diseases.  It also stimulates the nervous system, so has been used in the treatment of AIDS and tuberculosis. In 2000, the German company Schwabe made significant profits on Umckaloabo, a product derived from the geranium, without compensating local communities. It then filed patents claiming exclusive rights to the medical use of the plant. But in 2010 the patents were cancelled following appeals from the African Centre for Biosafety in South Africa and the Bern Declaration in Switzerland, calling the patents “an illegitimate and illegal monopolization of genetic resources derived from traditional knowledge and a stark opposition to the Convention on Biodiversity.” Bélier told EurActiv the new regulation should help protect biodiversity and ensure that indigenous and local communities are adequately compensated for their resource and their traditional know-how. Read the article … Download the proposed regulation [pdf] … Read an interview with Sandrine Bélier …