Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources & Traditional Cultural Expressions

PIJIP performs scholarship and advises governmental, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations on the potential use of and limits on IP protections (including trademarks, geographic indications, copyright, and disclosure of origin and access and benefit sharing requirements) in order to protect indigenous rights to produce and profit from their cultural, genetic, and other resources. Prof. Farley is the author of a much-cited article in this area. Prof. Jaszi headed an academic mission to study the potential role of sui generis intellectual property systems in protecting and promoting traditional arts in Indonesia. Prof. Sarnoff has produced a report for UNCTAD on treaty mechanisms to implement disclosures of origin requirements in intellectual property applications.

PIJIP Reports, Submissions and Publications

Joint NGO Statement. The Impact of Intellectual Property Laws on Indonesian Traditional Arts. (July 29, 2008).

In Indonesia, as many other parts of the world, there is an active debate about the desirability of extending intellectual property law protection to traditional art, music, theatre, dance, textiles, and crafts (among other so-called "traditional cultural expressions.") This collaborative statement by international and Indonesian civil society describes how new intellectual property rules affect traditional arts, and how well it responds to the desires of those creating the arts.

Joshua D. Sarnoff (with Carlos M. Correa), Analysis of Options for Implementing Disclosure of Origin Requirements in IP Applications, UNCTAD Report. (2005).

New international treaty provisions to mandate disclosure of origin requirements in applications for IP are needed. They should specify the substantive and procedural triggers for making required disclosures, the types and timing of evaluations of disclosed information, the consequences of disclosure failures, and whether to mandate or facilitate the use of international certificates of origin in making required disclosures.

Christine Haight Farley, Protecting Folklore of Indigenous Peoples: Is Intellectual Property the Answer? Connecticut L. Rev. 30 (1997). SSRN Link

What can the Navajos do to prevent non-Navajos from using Navajo rug patterns to produce rugs overseas using cheap material and labor, thereby undercutting the Navajos themselves in a market for their famous rugs? What can the Australian Aboriginal peoples do when their sacred and secret imagery is reporduced on carpets they did not make, and sold to non-Aboriginals, who will inevitably walk on them?

Government Documents

• South African Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill, and Policy Framework, and General Notice.

Past Events

• The Trade in Antiquities: Laws, Cases, Ethics and Staying “Out of Trouble.” February 1, 2007 | 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Room 603.
  Through this slide-illustrated lecture, Professor Patty Gerstenblith will explore the law and ethics surrounding preserving archaeological context and heritage by museums.
• ILSP Anniversary Panel on Traditional Knowledge, March 27, 2007.
  In conjunction with the ILSP’s 25th Anniversary Celebrations, PIJIP will sponsor a panel on the relation between traditional knowledge and the development and human rights promotion interests of developing countries. View webcast.
• Prosecuting Crimes Against Cultural Heritage, October 6, 2006.
  Robert Goldman, former Assistant U.S. Attorney, and FBI Special Agent, Robert K. Wittman, discussed their experience and work together in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and on the FBI’s rapid deployment national Art Crime Team. In the past six years, Goldman and Wittman have been involved in the recovery of more than $150 million worth of stolen art and cultural property, including objects of cultural significance belonging to Geronimo, George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Brown, Andrew Jackson, Gettysburg commander General George Meade, and 19th century Arctic explorer Dr. Elisha Kent Kane.

Partners

• Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation