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.

The Convention on Biological Diversity, designed in 1992, was intended to protect the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and the equitable fair distribution of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources ( English term, "ABS"). The third objective remains not sufficiently cleared and the countries felt the need to legislate on the subject before the eminent importance of the rights arising from the exploitation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with them and the transboundary damage from predatory exploitation. Countries faced with a growing biodiversity degradation in an uncontrolled and a reduction of fauna and flora form. They start question the exploratory use and necessary preservation of sociobiodiversity for future generations based on interculturalism, and the effect of such rights in social harvest, cultural, political and economic. To address such conflicts on the international scene came the Nagoya Protocol, and in Brazil, Law 13.123/ 2015. Both laws walked in the same direction, with flexible access to traditional knowledge and biodiversity, striving for expansion of research and innovation. The literature search was performed using the deductive method, lying on the theme Rights Research Line Sociobiodiversity and Sustainability. The Nagoya Protocol left the national legislation up to each country, bringing minimum dictates. Brazil has not ratified but implemented specific legislation that included the protection of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, however, gave way to exploratory mean. / A Convenção sobre Diversidade Biológica, concebida em 1992, destinou-se à proteção da conservação e o uso sustentável da diversidade biológica além da repartição justa equitativa dos benefícios provenientes da utilização dos recursos genéticos (termo em inglês, ABS ). O terceiro objetivo não restou suficientemente aclarado e os países signatários sentiram a necessidade de legislar sobre o tema diante da notória importância dos direitos advindos da exploração dos recursos genéticos e dos conhecimentos tradicionais a eles associados e os danos transfronteiriços decorrentes da exploração predatória. Os países se depararam com uma crescente degradação da biodiversidade, de forma descontrolada e uma redução da fauna e da flora. Passou-se a questionar o uso com viés exploratório e a necessária preservação da sociobiodiversidade para as gerações futuras tendo por base a interculturalidade, e o reflexo de tais direitos na seara social, cultural, política e econômica. Para enfrentar tais embates, no cenário internacional exsurgiu o Protocolo de Nagoia e, no Brasil, a Lei 13.123, de 2015. Ambas as legislações caminharam no mesmo sentido, flexibilizando o acesso aos conhecimentos tradicionais e à biodiversidade, primando pela expansão da pesquisa e da inovação. A presente pesquisa bibliográfica foi feita utilizando-se do método dedutivo, encontrando-se na temática na Linha de Pesquisa de Direitos da Sociobiodiversidade e Sustentabilidade. O Protocolo de Nagoia deixou a regulamentação nacional a cargo de cada país, trazendo ditames mínimos. O Brasil não o ratificou, mas implementou legislação específica que compreendeu a proteção aos recursos genéticos e os conhecimentos tradicionais associados, todavia, cedeu lugar ao viés exploratório.

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

Bangladesh and India share 54 transboundary rivers. Despite that, the transboundary water management between these two countries is heavily concentrated on the Ganges river basin, in which, mode of cooperation is still based on physical sharing of water. The study is developed on the argument that Bangladesh and India need a shift of focus in their current mode of transboundary water management from physical sharing of water to sharing of benefits derived from the use (and non-use) water in order to foster transboundary water cooperation in the Ganges river basin. Based on a single-case study, the research work aims to explore the scope of benefit-sharing in the transboundary water cooperation in the Ganges river basin and how benefit-sharing can be facilitated between these two countries. The findings show that the water negotiation in the Ganges basin would become much more complicated in the future, primarily due to the growing gap between the demand and the availability of water. The adverse impact of climate change will further deteriorate the situation. Besides, the changing nature of India’s domestic politics and the growing internal conflict between its provincial states will weaken the Indian central government’s authority to manage transboundary water resources jointly. Therefore, in the future, Bangladesh and India would find it difficult to elicit a positive-sum outcome from any water negotiation in Ganges river if they still focus on the volumetric allocation of water. The study suggests that inland navigation and water transit, multipurpose storage dam projects and joint management of the Sundarbans can be the potential areas for benefit-sharing in the Ganges basin. The study stresses the importance of shifting the policy outlook and developing institutional arrangements between Bangladesh and India to introduce and facilitate benefit-sharing in the Ganges river basin that will help to share benefits equitably, hence foster cooperation.

No description available.

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.

Submitted by admin tede (tede@pucgoias.edu.br) on 2016-09-02T12:49:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FRANCISCA SOARES DE LIMA.pdf: 746819 bytes, checksum: 5b9d227536e06f00abf741dd03875c94 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-02T12:49:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FRANCISCA SOARES DE LIMA.pdf: 746819 bytes, checksum: 5b9d227536e06f00abf741dd03875c94 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-14 / This study is to show the sharing of benefits due to access to traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, after Law 13.123, of May 20, 2015, known as the New legal Mark of Biodiversity. The international growth of the issues related to the theme and situation of Brazil as a country holder of relevant biodiversity, justify the study done. It was intended to verify if the new standard promotes the sharing of benefits between providers and users in a fair and equitable manner as stipulated in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol. To achieve this goal we initially approached the international Biodiversity protection idea. Protection brought unsuccessfully by means of intellectual property rights. Necessarily we refer to the DBC determinations and the Nagoya Protocol, world icons of biodiversity protection. Taking up the issue on the national scene we list the provisions of national law, facing the main problems of the regulation in force until the approval of the new law. We discuss some cases of disrespect of the law by companies using traditional knowledge associated to the detriment of indigenous peoples, communities and traditional farmers. Finally, we analyze the provisions of the new law, especially the items focused on allocation of benefits, being possible to conclude, by the lack of legitimacy and effectiveness of the law, as regards the sharing of benefits. / O objetivo do presente trabalho foi estudar a repartição de benefícios decorrentes do acesso ao conhecimento tradicional associado ao patrimônio genético, após a edição da Lei 13.123, de 20 de maio de 2015, conhecida como o Novo Marco Legal da Biodiversidade. O crescimento internacional das questões ligadas ao tema e situação do Brasil, como país detentor de relevante biodiversidade, justificam a realização do trabalho. Pretendeu-se verificar se as disposições da nova norma promovem uma repartição de benefícios entre provedores e usuários, de forma justa e equitativa, como estabelecem a Convenção de Diversidade Biológica e o Protocolo de Nagoya. Para atingir esse objetivo abordamos inicialmente o surgimento a nível internacional da ideia de proteção da biodiversidade. Proteção intentada, sem sucesso, por intermédio dos direitos de propriedade intelectual. Necessariamente nos reportamos às determinações da CDB e do Protocolo de Nagoya, ícones mundiais da proteção da biodiversidade. Retomando a questão no cenário nacional elencamos as disposições da legislação nacional, enfrentando os principais gargalos da norma regulamentadora, vigente até a aprovação da nova lei. À título de ilustração levantamos alguns casos de desrespeito da legislação por parte de empresas utilizadoras de conhecimento tradicional associado, em detrimento dos povos indígenas, comunidades e agricultores tradicionais. Por fim, analisamos as disposições da nova lei, especialmente dos itens voltados à questão ligada à repartição de benefícios, sendo possível concluir, a priori, pela ausência de legitimidade e de efetividade da lei, no que se refere à repartição de benefícios.

Au milieu du siècle dernier, les traités relatifs aux droits de l'homme et les normes éthiques de la réglementation de la recherche n'ont pas suffi à prévenir les violations de la dignité de la personne humaine dans les expériences médicales pratiquées contre les minorités sociales. Il existe, aujourd’hui, un ensemble complexe de règles qui visent non seulement à protéger les volontaires, mais aussi à garantir un accès équitable aux résultats de la recherche. Les contradictions et les interprétations erronées de ces normes limitent toutefois la pleine réalisation de ces garanties, essentielles par rapport aux minorités sociales, face à leur manque de représentation politique dans la société. Dans ce sens, une étude exploratoire-descriptive a été réalisée en passant en revue la littérature et en appliquant un questionnaire destiné à comparer les réponses présentées par les comités d'éthique du Brésil et de la France. Il a été conclu qu'il est impératif que le principe du partage des avantages soit largement appliqué dans toutes les recherches, y compris celles qui utilisent des données personnelles et des échantillons corporels, notamment en ce qui concerne les minorités sociales, afin que les progrès scientifiques soient accessibles à tous. / In the middle of the last century, treaties of human rights and set ethical principles regarding human experimentation were not enough to prevent, in practice, violations of the dignity of the human person in medical experiments practiced in social minorities. Nowadays, there is a complex set of rules that aim not only to protect volunteers but also to ensure equitable access to research results. Contradictions and misinterpretations of these norms, however, limit the full realization of these guarantees, essential in relation to social minorities, in face of their lack of political representation in society. In this sense, an exploratory-descriptive study was carried out by reviewing the literature and applying a questionnaire designed to compare the responses presented by independent ethics committees from Brazil and France. It was concluded that it is imperative that the benefit-sharing be broadly applied in all research, including those that use personal data and body samples, especially with regard to social minorities in order to make progress increasingly accessible to all. / Em meados do século passado, tratados de direitos humanos e normas éticas de regulação da pesquisa não foram suficientes para impedir, na prática, violações à dignidade da pessoa humana em experiências médicas praticadas em minorias sociais. Hodiernamente, há um complexo de normas que objetivam não só proteger voluntários como lhes garantir equitativo acesso aos resultados das pesquisas. Contradições e interpretações equivocadas dessas normas, entretanto, limitam a plena efetivação dessas garantias, essenciais em relação às minorias sociais, diante da sua falta de representação política na sociedade. Neste sentido, um estudo exploratório-descritivo foi realizado através de revisão da literatura e aplicação de questionário elaborado para comparar as respostas apresentadas pelos comitês de revisão ética do Brasil e da França. Concluiu-se que é imprescindível que o preceito da repartição de benefícios seja aplicado, na prática, de forma ampla, em todas as pesquisas, inclusive naquelas que utilizam dados pessoais e amostras corporais, especialmente com relação às minorias sociais, para que as pesquisas oportunizem a todos a percepção do progresso científico-tecnológico.

<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.