Traditional Knowledge Protection: Biopiracy and Benefit Sharing

Why this topic matters

Traditional medicine knowledge is held by communities. When a company or researcher takes knowledge or plant material, develops a product and keeps the profit, many people call it biopiracy. A paper by an international group of researchers describes arguments that the patenting of herbs or natural products by pharmaceutical corporations disregarded the ownership of the knowledge possessed by indigenous communities. [1] The same paper says that sharing a rational set of benefits between producers and indigenous communities is still a distant reality. [1] This page explains the main rules and where they stop. It is information only and is not legal advice.

Key terms

• Genetic resources: biological material such as plants that can be used to develop products. WIPO notes that genetic resources as such are not patentable but inventions based on them may be. [2]
• Traditional knowledge: knowledge held by communities. Many Indigenous Peoples, local communities and governments seek intellectual property protection for it. [2]
• Bioprospecting: seeking and documenting traditional medical knowledge or the biodiversity it is attached to, and converting it into a commercial product. [3]
• Prior informed consent: permission given freely, with full information, before research or use begins.
• Benefit sharing: returning a fair share of benefits, which need not be only money.

The main international instruments

Convention on Biological Diversity, Article 8(j). Countries are asked, subject to national legislation, to respect, preserve and maintain the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities, and to promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of that knowledge. [4]

Nagoya Protocol. Adopted on 29 October 2010 and in force since 12 October 2014, it is about fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources. [5] It addresses traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources with provisions on access, benefit-sharing and compliance, and countries are to take measures to ensure communities' prior informed consent and fair and equitable benefit-sharing. [5]

WIPO treaty (2024). The WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge was adopted on 24 May 2024 and will come into force three months after 15 ratifications and accessions. [6] It requires patent applicants to disclose the country of origin of genetic resources, or the Indigenous Peoples or local community providing associated traditional knowledge, when the invention is based on them. [6] Patent offices would have no obligation to verify the disclosure, and the treaty is not retroactive. [6]

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Article 31 states that Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their traditional knowledge, and their intellectual property over it. [7] Article 24 states their right to their traditional medicines and to conserve their vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals. [7]

Public versus restricted knowledge

Some knowledge is deliberately not shared outside a community. Kallawaya communities in Bolivia documented their healing practices and related botanical knowledge, and made the publication exclusive to their communities. [10] The ethical code of the International Society of Ethnobiology says educated prior informed consent must be established before any research is undertaken, and acknowledges harm done by research without it. [11] This site does not describe restricted or ceremonial practices; see what is public and what is restricted.

What it means for consumers

A product that uses a people's name or "sacred" language does not show that the community agreed or benefits. Ask who produced it and whether knowledge holders took part. WHO's Global Traditional Medicine Centre works on equitable benefit-sharing and protection of Indigenous intellectual property. [12] Related guides: cultural appropriation and traditional healing products, hoodia and sustainability and commercialization. None of this changes medical safety, so tell your clinician or pharmacist about any herbal product you use. [13]