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Traditional knowledge (TK) has, for centuries, played an important role in the lives of indigenous peoples worldwide. Such knowledge constit utes a vital part of their cultural heritage, contributes to the sustainable use and preservation of biodiversity, and is fundamental to their sustainable development.111 However, there has been a growing recognition of the problems associated with the misappropriation and use of tradit ional knowledge for commercial (and other) purposes. In part icular, the intellectual property system for patents and copyright has served to enable the taking and use of traditional knowledge by transnational corporations, with little recourse or remedies available to indigenous and other local communities.
With respect to the protection of traditional knowledge, several fora, in particular, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is discussing “appropriate” frameworks for the protection, preservation and promotion of traditional knowledge.
This focus piece carries out a comparative analysis of the proposed WIPO framework on TK with the statements/declarations of indigenous and other local communities that have participated in the process so far. The paper concludes that while the proposed WIPO framework offers a good basis for discussions towards the establishment of a legally binding instrument for the protection of traditional knowledge, much work still remains. Concerted efforts have to be made to fully ensure that the proposed framework reflects the core demands of indigenous and other local communities. Meeting this objective will require that such communities are appropriately consulted and are enabled to effectively take part in the IGC’s policy-making processes.