Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Related Privacy Concerns Chaudhary Nikita1,*, Das N.R. Rakesh2,3 1PhD Research Scholar (Junior Research Fellow), University of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 2Presently serving as Judicial Officer at Tripura Judicial Services 3He is also a PhD Research Scholar from Central University, Sikkim, India *Corresponding author email id: nikitachaudhary2020@gmail.com
Online Published on 06 December, 2023. Abstract Traditional knowledge in its purest form denotes the knowledge and wisdom associated with the indigenous community of a particular region. If we elaborate the term more, we understand that traditional knowledge is the outcome of extensive scientific research of natural phenomena that has occurred in ancient human history and has the potential to affect our day to day life. Indigenous people’s identities are shaped by their traditional knowledge and practices. They are the ones, who extract medicinal components from the natural resources and pass on their knowledge to generations for a better future. However, as the saying goes, nature has enough for our needs but never enough to fulfil our greed. With the development of science and technology, we have become so greedy that we do not think twice while selling our traditional knowledge to multinational companies. Unfortunately, by doing so, we are not only ruining the natural resources but also destroying the identity of the original indigenous people who are the actual possessors of that knowledge. There is enough mechanism under several legislations to protect the rights of the indigenous people; however it has not been recognised as a basic right under the purview of Right to Privacy of a certain group. In this paper the author has identified following problems which demand our diligent attention. To begin with we have undertaken a hefty task of defining what amounts to Traditional Knowledge and what amounts to ‘Privacy’ in the context of Traditional Knowledge. Secondly, we have studied various protection mechanisms in different countries with respect to Traditional Knowledge, and thereafter shifted our gears towards Indian laws vis-à-vis our indigenous community. Thirdly, we uncover the issue of bio-Piracy and the manner in which it is affecting the rights of indigenous people. Top Keywords Traditional knowledge, Bio-piracy, Privacy, Indigenous. Top |