Diversity In Intellectual Property

Leading scholars address the interface between intellectual property and diversity with respect to culture, religion, race, and gender.

Cultural property, aboriginal people, ethnobiology, legal status, laws.

People, Plants and Patents: The impact of intellectual property on biodiversity, conservation, trade and rural society

This volume advances the claim that the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) adopted in 2001 is the only existing international agreement with the potential to promote food security, conservation of biodiversity and equity. However, for germplasm-rich countries, national interests come into conflict with the global interest. This work shows that the pursuit of national interests is counterproductive when it comes to maintaining genetic resources, food-security and rent-seeking and that optimally, the coverage of the FAO Treaty should be widened to apply to all crops.

Tracing global histories of patenting, this book reveals the resilient diversity of patent systems, challenging the universality of 'intellectual property'.

This text examines the international agreements governing trade in genetic resources - crucial resources for world agriculture, food security and large industries such as pharmaceuticals. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in these resources are critical for those involved in the trade, including industry and developing countries. The book analyzes the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), World Trade Organization agreements and other agreements. It explains how they can be integrated into an equitable training regime.

Much of the debate around the parameters of intellectual property (IP) protection relates to differing views about what IP law is supposed to achieve. This book analyses the object and purpose of international intellectual property law, examining how international agreements have been interpreted in different jurisdictions and how this has led to diversity in IP regimes at a national level.

This handbook is designed to make intellectual property protection issues and options more understandable to traditional knowledge holders and human rights organizations and legal professionals working with local and indigenous communities.