This paper gives an over view of the complex and controversial nature of the legal protection of ... more This paper gives an over view of the complex and controversial nature of the legal protection of indigenous knowledge systems. The article proceeds to examine indigenous knowledge and the arguments for recognizing and protecting it. It further examines the international protection provided by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the issue of biopiracy. Some selected few cases of biopiracy have been examined. Then after application of existing intellectual property rights to indigenous knowledge on the international and national level have been examined too in particular explaining the problems and benefits of protecting indigenous knowledge for the sake of knowledge management and development of Africa's information systems and services. An assimilation of indigenous knowledge to the current intellectual property laws have been briefly examined and evaluated. The article also seeks to examine some of the new sui generis systems for the protection of indigenous knowledge an...
This study addresses the global issues that relates to protection of indigenous traditional knowl... more This study addresses the global issues that relates to protection of indigenous traditional knowledge with special emphasis to traditional medicinal knowledge. The core issue of TK protection and in particular traditional medicinal knowledge lies at the centre of the current global IP protection mechanisms. The problem that this study has addressed is the failure of the existing conventional intellectual property regime to afford protection to traditional indigenous intellectual property, in particular traditional knowledge systems. Of particular importance is the traditional medicinal knowledge in Tanzania. The study found that a tremendous amount of knowledge in the world cannot easily be protected under the two branches of intellectual property, that is to say, patent law which is selective as to the type of invention that can be protected as most patents are not for significant technological breakthroughs but for small incremental improvements on the state of art. The other bran...
... a Western drug company has patented a Hoodia cactus plant known to the !Kung bushmen who live... more ... a Western drug company has patented a Hoodia cactus plant known to the !Kung bushmen who live in and around the Kalahari Desert in ... company profiting from the knowledge (if there are transnational obligations or if the State is partly owner of the enterprise) (Shelton, 1993). ...
This paper gives an over view of the complex and controversial nature of the legal protection of ... more This paper gives an over view of the complex and controversial nature of the legal protection of indigenous knowledge systems. The article proceeds to examine indigenous knowledge and the arguments for recognizing and protecting it. It further examines the international protection provided by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the issue of biopiracy. Some selected few cases of biopiracy have been examined. Then after application of existing intellectual property rights to indigenous knowledge on the international and national level have been examined too in particular explaining the problems and benefits of protecting indigenous knowledge for the sake of knowledge management and development of Africa's information systems and services. An assimilation of indigenous knowledge to the current intellectual property laws have been briefly examined and evaluated. The article also seeks to examine some of the new sui generis systems for the protection of indigenous knowledge an...
This study addresses the global issues that relates to protection of indigenous traditional knowl... more This study addresses the global issues that relates to protection of indigenous traditional knowledge with special emphasis to traditional medicinal knowledge. The core issue of TK protection and in particular traditional medicinal knowledge lies at the centre of the current global IP protection mechanisms. The problem that this study has addressed is the failure of the existing conventional intellectual property regime to afford protection to traditional indigenous intellectual property, in particular traditional knowledge systems. Of particular importance is the traditional medicinal knowledge in Tanzania. The study found that a tremendous amount of knowledge in the world cannot easily be protected under the two branches of intellectual property, that is to say, patent law which is selective as to the type of invention that can be protected as most patents are not for significant technological breakthroughs but for small incremental improvements on the state of art. The other bran...
... a Western drug company has patented a Hoodia cactus plant known to the !Kung bushmen who live... more ... a Western drug company has patented a Hoodia cactus plant known to the !Kung bushmen who live in and around the Kalahari Desert in ... company profiting from the knowledge (if there are transnational obligations or if the State is partly owner of the enterprise) (Shelton, 1993). ...
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Papers by paul kihwelo