Using Patents to Protect Traditional Knowledge

The role that intellectual property can play in the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) has been on the international agenda for more than ten years, with little to show for it. For example, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has provided a forum for international policy debate on the subject since 1998, and the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) has held meetings on draft provisions for the protection of TK against misappropriation and misuse since 2001. Similarly, since 1999 the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been examining the most effective means to deal with the commercial use of TK when that knowledge is the subject of patent applications. Years of effort have produced few tangible results.