Caribbean Community Group Seeks to Protect Traditional Knowledge

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- A CARICOM working group on traditional knowledge (TK), traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) and genetic resources is currently on a fact-finding mission in Jamaica.

The group is made up of representatives from the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) and several of their counterparts from across the region.

The aim of the group is to determine the best method of protecting the traditional knowledge that is specific and particular to Jamaica, and other Caribbean countries, which have been in use for several generations.

Executive Director of JIPO, Carol Simpson, says that there are no international norms that protect these rights, hence the setting up of several working groups by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to examine the issue.

As part of the group's efforts, a public forum was held on Tuesday in Kingston to facilitate discussions with members of the public.

During the forum, WIPO consultant and member of the working group, Mary-Ann Richards, explained that there are many challenges to developing international rules on TK and TCEs.

"TK is community ownership, it's oral tradition, most times not documented. It's creation over long periods of time; very few people can go back and say this was created on the sixth of March, 1800. It's created by many different actors, all of them creating and improving, and the rights are held in perpetuity," she said.

Click here for the full story on Caribbean Net News.

 

---

Photo of a Caribbean coast placed on flickr.com under a creative commons license by mdany.