0.8 Traditional knowledge  (Page 19/24)

Article 27

In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.

Universal declaration of human rights (1948)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) establishes the right to the protection of moral interests and materials deriving from any scientific, literary or artistic production. The UDHR is not a binding document, but it is a foundational document for the United Nations and for the two 1966 Covenants, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Although the UDHR does not address intellectual property rights,  Article 27  of the UDHR recognizes the "moral and material interests" of authors and inventors and the right of the public “to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” This article expresses the challenge of balancing private intellectual property rights and a vibrant public domain.

Article 17

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 27

1. Everyone has the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Policy arguments

As indicated above, the questions of whether and how to protect traditional knowledge are currently being debated and are highly controversial. At the international level and within many individual countries, strong differences of opinion can be found. Set forth below are summaries of the primary arguments made in this debate.

Why protect tk?

Arguments from Personhood. For many indigenous groups, TK encompasses cultural elements that are integral to the group's sense of identity. One can argue that objects and expressions that are fundamental to a person's or group's identity merit protection, and at the extreme, could be considered inalienable. Similarly, some advocates for TK protection have proposed a "cultural stewardship" justification for this protection. For example, Kristen Carpenter, Sonya Katyal and Angela Riley advocate allowing indigenous communities to retain control, if not exclusive access and ownership, of TK because of its importance in shaping the identity of the indigenous group and its culture.

Closely related to arguments from personhood are arguments from moral rights, which we discussed in Module 4. It is argued, just as an individual artist should enjoy a right of attribution and integrity with respect to her creations, so should a community enjoy a right of attribution and integrity with respect to its collective creations.