Solutions to the Problem of Misappropriation of Traditional Knowledge: A Study on the Concept, International Trends and Laws in Foreign Jurisdictions N/A

Abstract

The developing countries are rich in traditional knowledge belonging to local and traditional communities around the countries. This traditional knowledge has so much value that the developed countries come to exploit for their use in industrial developments either use of knowledge itself as the foundation for the inventions and then gain the intellectual property protection in form of patent, or use of knowledge about genetic or biological resources to develop the new process and then the intellectual property protection. However, the communities which are the origins of this traditional knowledge are not informed of the use and intellectual property protection because the use takes place without the permission from the communities. Therefore, the developing countries and the relevant international communities propose a number of solutions for this problem. In this article, it studies from the research document concerned with the exploitation and solutions for this problem, together with international agreements, the laws in other countries and the laws in Thailand. This article suggests that the solution should be an legal amendment to force the disclosure of traditional knowledge in the process of patent application and this disclosure must be conditional to the patent application or mandatory. This is in line with the laws in other countries. Furthermore, in the meantime, there is a proposal for amendment in TRIPS agreement together with the drafting of traditional knowledge protection agreement by the World Intellectual Property Organization, which also suggest to mandate the disclosure of traditional knowledge in the process of patent application.