As NTFP-EP is proudly launching HIVE, its new e-learning platform, we're opening the second quarter of the year is a series of webinars designed to build capacity on how local and indigenous communities can use existing tools and mechanisms to protect their intellectual property rights over their traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. This is a recording of the first of three webinars on intellectual property rights.
Introduction to the Intellectual Property Regime
An overview of the main principles of the Intellectual Property System from a traditional knowledge perspective will be presented. There will also be an exploration of the potential value that Intellectual Property could bring in support of traditional knowledge protection. Gaps within the Intellectual Property System will also be discussed along with the examination of various Intellectual Property Tools and their potential for protecting traditional knowledge. Particular focus will be given to the Madrid Protocol.
Uploaded April 12, 2018 14:00-16:00 UTC +8
3. Session Objectives
■ Be familiar with the current international system for the
protection of intellectual property (IP), as well as the basic IP
tools;
■ Identify the limitations of and opportunities provided by the
IP system for the protection of traditional knowledge (TK);
■ Know about the Madrid System for the International
Registration of Marks.
4. Outline
■ Basic Principles of the Intellectual Property System
■ Intellectual PropertyTools
■ The IP System andTraditional Knowledge (TK) andTraditional
Cultural Expressions (TCEs)
■ The Madrid System
5. Basic Principles
■ Creations of the human mind / Intellectual creations –
Intangible
■ Legal Property; Exclusive and Private Rights
■ Formality – registration
■ Limits
– Temporal (time)
– Geographical (territory)
– Public Domain
6. Intellectual Property Rights:
An Exchange
Protection of the moral and
economic rights of creators
Public access to the fruits of creativity
7. Milestones : 1883 to 2018
Paris Convention
1883
1886
1891
1893
1925
1960
1967
1970
1989
2002
Berne Convention
Madrid Agreement
BIRPI
Hague Agreement
BIRPI moves to Geneva
WIPO Convention
WIPO established
PCT
Madrid Protocol
Internet Treaties
2009
STLT
2010
8. Basic facts aboutWIPO
■ WIPO’s Mission: To promote the protection of IP
rights worldwide and extend the benefits of the
international IP system to all Member States
■ Status: A self-funded specialized agency of the
UN & international intergovernmental organization
■ Member States: 191
■ Staff: 950 from 101 countries
■ Treaties Administered: 26
■ Decisions by: General Assembly, Assemblies of
Member States of Each Union, WIPO Coordination
Committee, WIPO Conference
12. Example: IP &TK Legal Landscape of the Philippines
Describe the main attributes of the product
Link the product attributes to customer needs
Legislation SUBJECT MATTER
Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA.
Republic Act 8371)
-rights to self-determination; cultural integrity; free and prior
informed consent (FPIC); ancestral domains
Cultural Heritage Act (Republic Act 10066) Protection of elements of cultural heritage
Wildlife Act (Republic Act 9147) Traditional use; right to FPIC in bioprospecting activities
Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (Republic
Act 8423)
Right to a share from the commercialization of traditional medicine
knowledge
Plant Variety Protection Act
(Republic Act 9168)
Farmers' rights to save, exchange, use, share and sell seeds
Intellectual Property Code (Republic Act 9283) Sui generis protection of plant varieties and animal breeds and a
system of protection for community intellectual rights
13. Intellectual Property Tools
Time Limited
Territorial
Exclusive
Industrial
Property
- patents
- trademarks
- industrial
designs
- geographical
indications
Copyright &
Related Rights
- literary, artistic,
musical works
- actors, music
distributors, etc.
16. Copyright
■ Protects the expression of ideas, not the idea per se
■ Works must be original
■ Copying is prohibited
■ No formalities – registration not necessary
18. Patents
■ Protects inventions – new and inventive
products and processes.
■ An invention is:
– A technical solution to a problem (or product) or
– A new way of doing something (a process)
21. Source: IP Office, Peru
Source: http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-
cipo/trdmrks/srch/viewTrademark?id=0792174&l
ang=eng&tab=reg (Canadian IP Office)
22.
23. Trademarks
■ Sign that protects brands and reputations – important for marketing
■ Consists of: words, letters, numbers, symbols, shape and packaging of
goods, sounds or fragrances can be subject of a mark
■ Elements: the mark
– Must be distinctive
– Cannot be generic, descriptive or deceptive
– Should not be identical or confusingly similar
■ Usually required to be registered
■ Prevent others from using it in a certain territory for certain
goods/services
■ 10 years duration; renewable
24. Trademarks
■ Examples: logos, drawings,
packaging
■ Collective (Peru, Philippines) &
certification (Cowichan) marks
Source: IP Office, Peru
Source: http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-
cipo/trdmrks/srch/viewTrademark?id=0792174&l
ang=eng&tab=reg (Canadian IP Office)
25. Geographical Indications
■ Sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin
and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that
origin
■ Geographical origin may be important because:
– Natural factors – i.e., local soil, climate etc.
– Human factors – i.e., skills, knowledge, practices/traditions
■ Examples: champagne, Darjeeling for tea from India
– Other products: agricultural products, wines, spirits, handicrafts
27. Industrial Designs
■ Protect the aesthetic or ornamental aspect of a product, or
how it looks rather than how it works or what it does
(functionally)
■ Only new designs are protected – must differ from existing
designs
■ Usually must be registered for protection - filing an
application and paying a fee (though can be protected by
copyright of unfair competition laws too)
29. Unfair Competition
■ Prevents:
– the false labelling of products
– creating confusion discrediting other brands
– Passing off your product as if it was something else
■ Supplements other IP regimes
■ No registration required
30. Trade Secrets
■ Also called “Confidential Information”
■ Protects secret knowledge, such as manufacturing processes, secret
ingredients etc.
■ Prevents someone from using the information if it is secret, indefinitely
■ Will not protect where there has been incidental / independent
discoveries
■ No registration required
■ Has protected tribal secrets in the past (Foster v Mounford)
40. «Traditional Knowledge »
know-how, innovations, information, practices, skills,
learning
ex.: hunting, fishing techniques, traditional medicine,
migration patterns, hybridization, etc.
41. «Traditional Cultural Expressions »
Forms in which culture and knowledge are
expressed, elements of cultural heritage
Ex: rituals, songs, dances, paintings, drawings,
crafts, poems, tales, textiles...
42. « Genetic resources »
Genetic material of actual or potential value
Genetic material: any material of plant, animal, microbial or other
origin containing functional units of heredity
Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992
Ex.: medicinal plants, traditional crops, animal breeds
43. Traditional Knowledge vs.
Intellectual Property System
Traditional
Knowledge
Intellectual
Property
Creation Collective Individual
Maintenance Collective Individual
Ownership Collective Individual
Term of
Ownership
Indefinite Fixed
Public domain No Yes
45. Trade
WTO
Biodiversity
CBD, Nagoya Protocol
Food and agriculture
FAO International Treaty
Human rights
UNDRIP
Universal Declaration on Human Rights
ILO Convention 169
Cultural heritage
and cultural diversity
UNESCO 2003 and 2005
Innovation and
Creativity/IP
IP Conventions
WIPO IGC
Health
WHO
46. What does protection mean under the
intellectual property system?
TreatingTK andTCEs as Intellectual Property
Have a say over access and use ofTK/TCEs by third parties
Using IP principles and values to prevent misuse and misappropriation
[exclusive rights model]
Property rights + prevention of access and use without PIC
[moral rights model]
Acknowledgement of source + prevention against derogatory use
[access and benefit-sharing / “use now, pay later” models]
Benefit-sharing / compensation
Balance and proportionality: IP rights do not provide absolute and perfect
control: limitations and exceptions / limited term / public domain
47. Example ofTK Protection from the Philippines:
Joint IPOPHL-NCIP Administrative Order
“Rules and Regulations on Intellectual Property Rights
Application and Registration Protecting the Indigenous
Knowledge Systems and Practices of the Indigenous Peoples
and Indigenous Cultural Communities”
48. Draft IPOPHL-NCIPAdministrative
Order
■ Scope:
“examination and registration on intellectual property
applications that use indigenous knowledge, systems and
practices (IKSP) of indigenous peoples”
■ Objectives:
1. Harmonized rules to protect intellectual creations of
indigenous peoples
2. Provide institutional arrangements between IPOPHL
and NCIP
3. Prevent misappropriation of IKSP
49. Salient Features of the Draft Joint
Administrative Order
IPRs applicants required to disclose IKSP used (mandatory disclosure)
If registration not required – disclosure in all communication of subject
matter to the public
IPOPHL may, motu proprio or upon request, refer applications to NCIP
for verification of ownership and compliance with free, prior and
informed consent (FPIC) requirements
Registration only upon compliance with disclosure and evidence of
FPIC and benefit-sharing
IPOPHL reserves judgment to determine registration, existence of
misappropriation
Collective management by IPs of artistic/literary work
51. The Madrid System
■ Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration
of Marks (1891)
■ The Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement (1989)
– entered into force on December 1, 1995
– came into operation on April 1, 1996.
■ Administered by the International Bureau of theWorld
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
– maintains the International Register
– publishes theWIPO Gazette of International Marks
52. Members of the Madrid Union - 116
■ Bahrain
■ Bhutan
■ Brunei Darussalam
■ Cambodia
■ China
■ North & South Korea
■ India
■ Indonesia
■ Japan
■ LAO PDR
■ Philippines
■ Singapore
■ Thailand
■ Vietnam
53. Objectives of the Madrid System
1. Facilitate the obtaining of protection for marks (trademarks
and service marks)
– International Register = bundle of national registrations
2. Provides for ease of protection and management of marks
– Renewal
– Amendment
– Limitation
55. Conclusion
■ Although there are gaps, it is possible to provide
protection forTK andTCEs using the tools available in
the current international system for protection of
intellectual property
■ The next session will delve more deeply into the gaps
and limitations, as well as good practices (examples),
in using the current intellectual property system to
protectTK andTCEs