National Webinar on SAFEGUARDING THE TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE (TK) IN INDIA – NEED OF THE HOUR! Organized by Centre for Intellectual Property Rights and Technology, Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam

About the Seminar

Traditional Knowledge (TK) is culturally oriented or culturally based, and it is integral to the cultural identity of the social group in which it operates and is preserved. “Traditional knowledge” is an open-ended way to refer to tradition-based literary, artistic, or scientific works; performances; inventions; scientific discoveries; designs; marks, names, and symbols; undisclosed information; and all other tradition-based innovations and creations resulting from intellectual activity. India is a hub of traditional knowledge, Indigenous culture, and ethnicity. The present legal regime in the field of traditional knowledge is inadequate and incomplete. The interconnectedness of national and global legal regimes on TK protection and the constant evolution of the debate calls for policy efforts towards adapting to changing requirements. For three reasons, the current IPR system cannot protect traditional knowledge. First, the current system seeks to privatize ownership and is designed to be held by individuals or corporations, whereas traditional knowledge has collective ownership. Second, this protection is time-bound, whereas traditional knowledge is held in perpetuity from generation to generation. Third, it adopts a restricted interpretation of invention which should satisfy the criteria of novelty and be capable of industrial application, whereas traditional innovation is incremental, informal, and occurs over time. A Sui Generis, or alternative law, is, therefore, necessary to protect traditional knowledge.