About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

11 Cardozo J. Int'l & Comp. L. 785 (2003-2004)
Traditional Medical Knowledge, Intellectual Property Rights & (and) Benefit Sharing

handle is hein.journals/cjic11 and id is 795 raw text is: TRADITIONAL MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS & BENEFIT SHARING Dr. Gerard Bodeker* INTRODUCTION The past decade has seen a rising storm of international de- bate and legal challenge over the patenting of traditional knowl- edge (TK) and its products, such as grain species, traditional medicines, traditional art images, music and rituals. Two conflict- ing forces at the heart of this have been: the attempt from non- indigenous individuals and organizations to claim ownership of in- digenous knowledge and commercial gain; the other has been from indigenous groups to fend off this trend and to either take owner- ship of such products themselves or to engage in partnership with fair sharing of benefits for the commercial development of their knowledge, products or processes.' From the early 1990's to the present, this set of issues has played out in international legal forums, corporate boardrooms, political debates and, occasionally, street demonstrations. At the heart of this conflict lies a perception that the patenting of indige- nous knowledge represents an inversion of the intent of the patent- ing system. In contrast to the intent of patent systems to provide protection to individual knowledge so that it can be brought out into the public domain for the public good, the patenting of indige- nous knowledge may be seen as the reverse: taking knowledge that is already in the public domain and using legal means to place it into the private domain for the financial gain of a limited few. TRADITIONAL MEDICINE - WHO DEFINITIONS Traditional (i.e. indigenous) medicine has received prominent attention in the past decade as pharmaceutical companies have viewed traditional medicines as possible sources of potent mole- cules that may be replicated synthetically and patented as sources * University of Oxford Medical School & Chair, Global Initiative For Traditional Sys- tems (GIFTS) of Health, Oxford, UK Email: <gerry.bodeker@medschool.ox.ac.uk> 1 Graham Dutfield, Trade-Related Aspects of Traditional Knowledge, 33 CASE W. RES. J. INT'L. L. 239 (2001). 785

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most