Magister Legum - LLM (Mercantile and Labour Law) / Traditional Knowledge (TK) has previously been considered a 'subject' in the public domain, unworthy of legal protection. However, the last few decades have witnessed increased discussions on the need to protect the knowledge of indigenous peoples for their economic sustenance, the conservation of biodiversity and modern scientific innovation. Questions remain as to how TK can best be protected through existing, adapted or sui generis legal frameworks. Based on an examination of the formal knowledge-protection mechanisms (i.e. the existing intellectual property system), this mini-thesis contends that these existing systems are inadequate for protecting TK. As a matter of fact, they serve as veritable platforms for incidences of biopiracy. It further argues that the many international initiatives designed to protect TK have so far failed owing to inherent shortcomings embedded in them. Furthermore, a comparative assessment of several national initiatives (in New Zealand, South Africa and Kenya) supports an understanding that several domestic efforts to protect TK have been rendered ineffective due to the insurmountable challenge of dealing with the international violations of local TK rights. It is therefore important that on-going international negotiations for the protection of TK, including the negotiations within the World Intellectual Property Organisation's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), do not adopt similar approaches to those employed in previous initiatives if TK must be efficiently and effectively protected. This mini-thesis concludes that indigenous peoples possess peculiar protection mechanisms for their TK within the ambit of their customary legal systems and that these indigenous mechanisms are the required anchors for effective global protections.

Magister Legum - LLM / There is a growing interplay of competing realities facing the international community in the general areas of innovation, technological advancement and overall economic development. The highly industrialised wealthy nations, largely located on the Northern hemisphere are on the one hand undoubtedly at the forefront in global research, technology and infrastructure development. The developing and least developed countries on the other hand are mostly situated on the Southern hemisphere. They are not as wealthy or technologically advanced as their Northern counterparts, but are naturally endowed with unique variations of plant, animal and micro-organism species occurring in natural ecosystems, as well as the traditional knowledge on how to use these unique species. This knowledge has been adjudged to be responsible for the sustainable maintenance of the earth biodiversity. Increasing exploitation of biodiversity spurred on by the competing realities identified above, has left the earth in a present state of alarm with respect to the uncontrolled loss of biodiversity. The traditional knowledge of local peoples has significantly offered leads to research institutes from the North in developing major advancements in drugs, cosmetics and agriculture. Little or no compensation has however been seen to go back to the indigenous communities and countries that provide resources, and indicate various possibilities through their traditional knowledge to the use of such resources. Efforts by some biodiversity rich countries to ddress this trend through legislation developed in accordance with the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity have been frustrated due to the inability to enforce their domestic laws outside their borders. Theft of genetic resources and its associated traditional knowledge from such countries has therefore remained a major challenge. Against this backdrop, and on the insistence of biodiversity-rich developing countries, an international regime on access and benefit sharing was negotiated and its final text adopted in 2010. This international regime is as contained in the Nagoya Protocol. This research sets out to examine whether the Nagoya Protocol offers a final solution to the protection of traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity in biodiverse countries. It further examines the importance of domestic legislation in achieving the objectives of the Protocol. The research has been tailored to African biodiverse countries, and seeks these answers within the context of Africa. / South Africa

A biodiversidade constitui o pilar de sustentação da civilização humana. No entanto, sua manutenção é constantemente ameaçada pelo próprio homem, em face do modo de produção no qual as economias mundiais se baseiam. Conseqüentemente, tornou-se necessário transformar a biodiversidade em um bem jurídico, a fim de regulamentar seu uso, o que foi feito por meio da Convenção da Diversidade Biológica (CDB). Esta reconhece a soberania dos países signatários sobre a diversidade biológica e cultural presente em seus territórios e a importância da conservação dos recursos naturais e genéticos, por meio da criação e implementação de um sistema de unidades de conservação, proteção dos conhecimentos e práticas tradicionais das comunidades locais, dentre outras formas. Estabelece as diretrizes para tal, assegurando a repartição justa e equitativa dos benefícios gerados pelo uso destes recursos. Ao apresentar as principais políticas públicas implementadas pelo Brasil referentes à conservação da diversidade biológica e tomando por base, especificamente, a criação e implementação de uma área protegida dentro do Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação, este trabalho discute se a criação de reservas extrativistas representa uma alternativa viável à conservação da diversidade biológica e, conseqüentemente, à conservação do estilo de vida das comunidades tradicionais no Brasil. Partindo-se, então, do texto da CDB, discute também se é uma alternativa viável para que o Brasil cumpra seus compromissos junto à CDB. A análise da criação e implementação da Reserva Extrativista do Baixo Juruá, como estudo de caso, comprova que a criação desta categoria de unidade de conservação apresenta-se como uma alternativa bastante válida para a conservação da diversidade biológica e do modo de vida dos moradores de comunidades tradicionais, principalmente para a região Amazônica, como no caso apresentado. / Biodiversity is the mainstream of human civilization. However, its conservation is constantly threatened by mankind and their world production-based economy. It has therefore become necessary to transform biodiversity into an international law wellbeing to regulate its use. This has been achieved by the Biological Diversity Convention (BDC). The BDC recognizes allied countries\' independent right over their own biological and cultural diversity. It also conceives the importance of natural and genetic resources conservation by means of implementing a system of Conservational Units, as well as by the protection of traditional knowledge and practices of local communities among others. The Convention establishes guidelines to achieve these goals, always assuring a fair and equal share of all the benefits obtained from the use of the resources. This paper presents the main public policies implemented in Brazil for the conservation of biodiversity, more specifically the creation and implementation of a protected area as part of the Brazilian National Conservation Unit System. It looks into the feasibility and efficacy of creating an Extractivist Conservation Unit System regarding biodiversity and traditional communities\' lifestyle protection in Brazil according to the BDC established guidelines and goals. The Baixo Juruá Extractivist Conservation Unit is particularly analyzed, focusing on its creation and implementation. This analysis concludes that such category of Conservational Unit comprises a feasible strategy for biodiversity and traditional communities\' lifestyle protection, especially concerning the Amazon.

Legal regulation of alien species of plants and animals Abstract This thesis deals with the legal regulation of invasive non-native species of plants and animals, i.e., preventing their spread and minimizing the negative consequences that these species cause on individual ecosystems and biodiversity in general. The aim of this work is to analyse the related effective international, EU and Czech national legislation and to define the most significant changes concerning the relevant Czech laws in connection with the implementation of Regulation (EU) No. 1143/2014 and Regulation (EC) No. 708/2007. At the beginning, the work deals with the history of the spread of non-native species, as identifying the critical pathways of their spread is also an important knowledge necessary for creating effective legislation and also the definition of fundamental terms - non-native species, invasive non-native species, and biodiversity. Furthermore, the work deals with the most important international treaties in this area, i.e., the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, the Convention on the Conservation of European Fauna and Flora and Habitats and the Madrid Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty, with the relevant European Union legislation, i.e., a network...

What happens when resources get valuable and scarce? How is Intellectual Property dealing with market failures related to sub-patentable innovation or purely traditional knowledge with interesting applications? The protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources (TKGR) has been one of the major modern challenges in international IP law. The entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its implementation in national legislation has created more questions than the ones it answered. The objective of this dissertation is to assist in the evaluation of current national and regional implementation initiatives as well in the presentation and evaluation of different forms of entitlements that could be applicable in the case of TKGR. The dissertation has employed a theoretical framework for this evaluation, by combining the Coase Theorem and Rawls' theory of justice. The choice of these two theoretical models is not a random one. In order for the entitlement covering TKGR to be successful, it has to be efficient. It has to offer a stable and efficient marketplace where access to TKGR is possible without unnecessary frictions. However, efficiency could not be the only objective.  An entitlement focusing solely on efficiency would fall short of the needs and special considerations of TKGR trade. It would above all be counter to the objectives and major principles of the CBD, the “fair and equitable sharing of the benefits” and would certainly fail to address the very important North-South perspective.  Fairness is thus a necessary complement to the efficiency of the proposed entitlement. This dissertation proposes a thorough investigation of the special characteristics, of right-holders, subject-matter, market place as well as of the general expectations that an entitlement is supposed to fulfill. In parallel to that, it  looks into the meaning and scope of alternative entitlements in order to be able to propose the best alternative.

<p>Genetic resources are vital to all people, but especially the poor. They are also important for biodiversity, in turn a key factor in sustainable development. Since 1980, the bio industries have utilized genetic resources in their work, for example on pharmaceuticals, and patented their findings. This has created mistrust and malcontent among biodiverse poor countries in the South. To promote biodiversity protection and ensure access to and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the usage of genetic resources, the Convention of Biological Diversity requests an international regime. Negotiations for the Access and Benefit Sharing regime began in 2001 and have intensified as its end date, 2010, draws nearer.</p><p>People in Babati, Tanzania are as dependant on traditional medicine, which utilizes wild genetic resources, as they are on modern medicine. The status in the regime of communities such as those of Babati is principally important if sustainable development is to be reached. The greatest issue for the model currently under negotiation to deal with in order to truly promote sustainable development is equity.</p>

Genetic resources are vital to all people, but especially the poor. They are also important for biodiversity, in turn a key factor in sustainable development. Since 1980, the bio industries have utilized genetic resources in their work, for example on pharmaceuticals, and patented their findings. This has created mistrust and malcontent among biodiverse poor countries in the South. To promote biodiversity protection and ensure access to and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the usage of genetic resources, the Convention of Biological Diversity requests an international regime. Negotiations for the Access and Benefit Sharing regime began in 2001 and have intensified as its end date, 2010, draws nearer. People in Babati, Tanzania are as dependant on traditional medicine, which utilizes wild genetic resources, as they are on modern medicine. The status in the regime of communities such as those of Babati is principally important if sustainable development is to be reached. The greatest issue for the model currently under negotiation to deal with in order to truly promote sustainable development is equity.

This thesis provides an analysis of recent attempts to regulate the governance of genetic resources through the initiation of new global commons regimes. These attempts have arisen out of a combination of the growing recognition of genetic resources' value and global nature; a new resurgence in support for the common property paradigm; and, during a period in which the world is becoming increasingly globalised, with many governance competencies moving to the supranational level. They can be viewed as part of a broader effort to proffer the common property approach as a legitimate alternative in the property regime debate: a debate that has increasingly become trapped in the public-private dichotomy at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the success of these attempts, and offer suggestions about how future attempts might be more successful. While there are a multitude of books, articles, opinion pieces and media reports produced that concern themselves with property theory, intellectual property theory, the efficacy or morality of applying property regimes to living materials, and the threats and promises of globalisation, all of which influence the notion of a potential global genetic commons, relatively little has been written directly on the idea of applying global common property regimes to genetic resource governance issues. The first part of this thesis constructs a theory of a global genetic commons, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, while the second part tests this theory in order to analyse the outcomes of the recent attempts, and suggest directions for future research. The thesis finds that the conception of a global genetic commons is indeed a valid one, and that while not all attempts so far have been successful, the common property paradigm does offer valuable insights for the future governance of genetic resources at the global level.

As discussões sobre as relações entre o Acordo TRIPS e a Convenção sobre a Diversidade Biológica (CDB) encontram-se na agenda internacional desde a realização da IV Conferência Ministerial da Organização Mundial do Comércio, ocorrida em novembro de 2001, em Doha no Catar. Apesar da considerável atenção que o tema tem recebido nos fóruns internacionais, o debate sobre o tratamento adequado da questão persiste sem solução. A presente tese apresenta uma abrangente análise das conexões que existem entre a proteção dos direitos de propriedade intelectual e a conservação da diversidade biológica. Além disso, a partir de uma análise de conceitos de propriedade intelectual como patentes, indicações geográficas, transferência de tecnologia e propriedade comunitária de conhecimentos tradicionais, destacam-se elementos necessários para o uso sustentável e conservação dos recursos biológicos. / The goal of establishing a positive relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity has been on the international agenda since the fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001. Despite a considerable amount of attention in the international forums, the debate about the appropriate parameter of this relationship persists without resolution. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between the protection of intellectual property rights and the conservation of biological diversity. Furthermore, that upon analysis of concepts of intellectual property such as patents, geographical indications, technology transfer and communal property over traditional knowledge, issues are identified to support the conservation and sustainable use of the biological resources.

As discussões sobre as relações entre o Acordo TRIPS e a Convenção sobre a Diversidade Biológica (CDB) encontram-se na agenda internacional desde a realização da IV Conferência Ministerial da Organização Mundial do Comércio, ocorrida em novembro de 2001, em Doha no Catar. Apesar da considerável atenção que o tema tem recebido nos fóruns internacionais, o debate sobre o tratamento adequado da questão persiste sem solução. A presente tese apresenta uma abrangente análise das conexões que existem entre a proteção dos direitos de propriedade intelectual e a conservação da diversidade biológica. Além disso, a partir de uma análise de conceitos de propriedade intelectual como patentes, indicações geográficas, transferência de tecnologia e propriedade comunitária de conhecimentos tradicionais, destacam-se elementos necessários para o uso sustentável e conservação dos recursos biológicos. / The goal of establishing a positive relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity has been on the international agenda since the fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001. Despite a considerable amount of attention in the international forums, the debate about the appropriate parameter of this relationship persists without resolution. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between the protection of intellectual property rights and the conservation of biological diversity. Furthermore, that upon analysis of concepts of intellectual property such as patents, geographical indications, technology transfer and communal property over traditional knowledge, issues are identified to support the conservation and sustainable use of the biological resources.