Introduction
In today's contemporary world, a highly diverse country like India, where we can observe all kinds of people who inhabit different states. Culture forms a huge part of the identity of the people, and these practices have been carried down through generations. As modernization and globalization have become prevalent and are shaping the way the country functions, there is are chance that these traditions can get lost and subside along the way. The population of the indigenous community in the villages is quite substantial, and their efforts and hard work need to be recognised. Traditional knowledge (TK) refers to the skills, information and technical know-how of these culture-rich communities that have been used to create various inventions and products that are industrially applicable and have utility among the general public.1
An example of this is the case of turmeric, where the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was able to stop the US Patent Office from granting its patent to two scientists due to its historical origin in India. The medical and anti-bacterial qualities of turmeric have been highlighted throughout the generations and have been normalised, wherein it is normal for people to drink turmeric milk at night as a regular practice or mix it with ginger to cure a common cold or cough.2.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE3
Equity
Equity is an important aspect of traditional knowledge protection, where the value created that is not fully recognised or rewarded due to current requisition and restitution schemes must be taken into account. Various pharmaceutical, cosmetic and agricultural products are made using these practices, and while the breeders and seed companies receive samples for free, the traditional farmers are neither paid for their contributions nor do they receive a share in any future profits. Hence, equitable remuneration must be given to protect their rights and prevent exploitation.
Conservation of Biodiversity
Biodiversity conservation is an important requirement in the current situation as global warming is at an all-time high, and the pollution levels are also gradually rising. TK often promotes and consists of sustainable practices in agriculture, forestry and resource management, which further aids sustainable development. Such kind of protection supports global efforts to combat climate change and maintain ecological balance.
Prevention of Bio-Piracy
Bio-piracy is the unethical exploitation of traditional knowledge and related genetic resources by corporations or researchers. This undermines the rights of indigenous communities, and without legal protection, they may lose ownership over their knowledge, which could be patented by outsiders. Enhancing the information accessible to patent offices for evaluating novelty and innovation can help avoid the improper granting of patents that unjustly surround TK.
Measures Taken to Protect Traditional Knowledge
1. Biodiversity Act of 2002
For the more effective implementation of this act, there are the authorities have been set up and work mainly at the three levels, i.e., National, State and Local Level. At the National Level, if any foreign-based entity, such as a foreigner, NRI, or any other corporate entity, seeks to obtain the IPR-based TK from India, then for this purpose, the National Biodiversity Authority/NBA regulates and is responsible for granting permission. Similarly, for any prior permission required to seek the same by any Indian Citizen or any other body corporate which is controlled by an Indian, then the State Biodiversity Board/SBB regulates such access. Finally, Biodiversity Management Committees are responsible for preparing the People's Biodiversity Register and also to give response of requests from NBA and SBB. According to the Act, the authorities have the power to make the guidelines they deem fit in the interest of the regional and other biodiversity-related kinds of activities, and henceforth, this will make them an official regulatory authority. Potentially, this Act can play an important role once an effective national instrument for the protection of TK comes into force4.
2. The Patents Act, 1970
As the new inventions of products and various other inventive processes involving innovative steps and their applicability take place, this is leading to the exclusion of the TK from the rights of an unknown patentee. In India, there is also a provision under section 3(p) of the Patents Act, 1970, which states that- "an invention which, in effect, is traditional knowledge or which is an aggregation or duplication of known properties of traditionally known component or components".5 In addition to this, the act provides for unveiling the geographical origin and the source of the biological material, more specifically, to facilitate compliance in order to share the relevant information regarding the TK with the NBA. The Patent Act completely prohibits the sanctioning of patents on TK, based on mere aggregations of known properties, biological processes of plants or animals, or any other indigenous knowledge, as such pieces of knowledge will also raise some serious questions upon the validity of such Patents in either pre- or post-grant proceedings.
3. Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (Dept. of ISM&H, now Ministry of AYUSH) jointly established this digital database of prior Indian Traditional Knowledge in 2001. The objective of TKDL is to prevent the exploitation and misappropriation of any ancient or India's known rich TK through Intellectual Property Rights. Access to around 3,30,044 Traditional Medicinal Formulations is currently available to 16 Patent Offices in patent-compatible format in five international languages under the TKDL Access to Non-Disclosure Agreement including the Indian Patent Office (Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks), European Patent Office, US Patent Office, Japanese Patent Office, German Patent Office, Canadian Patent Office, Chile Patent Office, Australian Patent Office, UK Patent Office, Malaysian Patent Office, Russian Patent Office, Peru Patent Office, Spanish Patent & Trademark Office, Danish Patent and Trademark Office, National Industrial Property Institute (INPI, France) and Eurasian Patent Organization6.
The TKDL have an immense potential to address the issues of the local tribal contributors and also give protection to other codified, uncodified or any other undisclosed knowledge regarding the same.
Conclusion
In today's world of modern intensive globalisation, the TK possesses a tremendous ability to deal with and solve the issues of the indigenous peoples. By taking an active involvement and participation in protecting biodiversity conservation and starting to give recognition to the contributors of local communities will further promote India's culturally rich heritage of Traditional Knowledge. To safeguard the TK for the upcoming generation, there is an urgent need for a legal instrument body or a treaty on an international level where the members are required to implement the necessary provisions in their respective states and which furthermore becomes the pre-requisite to provide an essential protection to all forms of the Traditional Knowledge. Such an initiative will ensure both knowledge preservation and just compensation to the communities who still harbour such knowledge.
REFERENCES
- WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization, https://www.wipo.int/tk/en/tk/.
- IIPRD - Patenting of Traditional Knowledge in Light of the Turmeric Case, (Sept, 10,2022) https://www.iiprd.com/patenting-of-traditional-knowledge-in-light-of-the-turmeric-case/.
- Gautam Badlani, Traditional knowledge in IPR, IPLEADERS, (Feb. 20, 2024) https://blog.ipleaders.in/ipr-vis-vis-traditional-knowledge/#Reasons_to_protect_traditional_knowledge_in_IPR
- Dr Ghazala Javed, Protection of Traditional Knowledge Initiatives of India, WIPO, https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/wipo_iptk_ge_2_16/wipo_iptk_ge_2_16_presentation_12javed.pdf.
- Intellectual Property India, (March 11, 2015) https://ipindia.gov.in/writereaddata/portal/ipoact/1_31_1_patent-act-1970-11march2015.pdf.
Footnotes
1. WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization, https://www.wipo.int/tk/en/tk/ (last visited April 04, 2025).
2. IIPRD - Patenting of Traditional Knowledge in Light of the Turmeric Case, (Sept, 10,2022) https://www.iiprd.com/patenting-of-traditional-knowledge-in-light-of-the-turmeric-case/ (last accessed 04 April 2025).
3. Gautam Badlani, Traditional knowledge in IPR, iPleaders (Feb. 20, 2024), https://blog.ipleaders.in/ipr-vis-vis-traditional knowledge/#Reasons_to_protect_traditional_knowledge_in_IPR (accessed 04 April 2025).
4. Dr Ghazala Javed, Protection of Traditional Knowledge Initiatives of India, WIPO, https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/wipo_iptk_ge_2_16/wipo_iptk_ge_2_16_presentation_12javed.pdf (Accessed: April 5, 2025).
5. Intellectual Property India, https://ipindia.gov.in/writereaddata/portal/ipoact/1_31_1_patent-act-1970-11march2015.pdf (Accessed: April 5, 2025).
6. Dr Ghazala Javed, Protection of Traditional Knowledge Initiatives of India, WIPO, https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/wipo_iptk_ge_2_16/wipo_iptk_ge_2_16_presentation_12javed.pdf (Accessed: April 5, 2025).
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