Patents Not Best To Protect Traditional Medical Knowledge, Author Says

Traditional medical knowledge would be best protected through liability rules instead of patents, according to a book exploring the applicability of intellectual property rights to traditional medical knowledge protection, and in particular if IP rights are suitable to promote the goals of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

The book, Patents as Protection of Traditional Medical Knowledge, published in the European Studies in Law and Economics series, is authored by Petra Ebermann. She contends that traditional agriculture, crafts, folklore and medical treatment are gaining increasing interest from Western companies.

Numerous cases of biological resource misappropriation have been recorded, she says, and while biological diversity has substantial value in terms of research and development in various fields, the current system may undermine access to future plant-based remedies.

Under a liability regime, “the use of a resource is allowed provided that compensation is paid afterwards.” This form of protection “provides an efficient trade-off because on the one hand an entitlement of traditional knowledge holders is recognised while on the other hand follow-on applications of their knowledge are not impaired,” she explains.

Such a liability regime requires the creation of a supranational collective rights organisation representing all parties that have interests in the final product, monitors the use of traditional knowledge and values the respective contributors, she writes.

The author stresses the importance for developing countries to invest in their own research and development capacities “if they want to capture the benefits from their biological diversity,” and should not limit themselves “to being exporters of the raw materials.”

Further research should be directed towards the shape and effects of a liability-based regime that awards compensation to traditional medical knowledge, she concludes.

The book can be purchased from Intersentia here.