Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property

Abstract

During the past two decades, the search for an appropriate mechanism to protect ‘traditional knowledge’ has been a subject of discourse among international law and policies agents, actors of global trade, academia, environmentalists, and the indigenous-rights activists. Within the framework of international law, the discussion went into two main directions: protection of knowledge products, and protection of rights over knowledge resources as a part of a movement to preserve vitality and diversity of indigenous cultures.