TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the analysis of possible options to ensure the protection of traditional knowledge through existing laws and legal systems in the field of intellectual property. For this purpose, the common problems that indigenous peoples and local communities face, when trying to ensure the protection of their traditional knowledge with the help of intellectual property law tools, are addressed. Separately, the possibility of using copyright, patents, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications, legislation on trade secrets and unfair competition are analyzed in detail. Examples are given for the implementation of traditional knowledge protection through intellectual property rights at the national level in selected countries, such as Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Ethiopia. Considerable attention is paid to the interpretation of the provisions of existing international legal acts in the field of intellectual property, in particular, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), as well as the Bern Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It is concluded that traditional intellectual property regimes do not provide adequate protection for traditional knowledge since contractual intellectual property rights are based on the concepts of an individual property.