Is intellectual property protection for indigenous knowledge and rights appropriate?
Not appropriate The notion of retroactive protection for old ideas that may, or may not, have originated from one or more communities (or even countries) is absurd. IPRs has always offered a limited monopoly for new ideas. In general, ideas that have already been commercialized, or even published, cannot be protected. If protected, the protection lasts only for about two decades not two millennia. Well have the discoverers of indigo dye suing Leonardo da Vinci for the Mona Lisa while the descendants of da Vinci sue Madonna for trademark infringement! Legal recognition of knowledge is always appropriate Ideas and/or the expression thereof should be protected, irrespective of their being originated by indigenous and/or local people or multinational corporations. The legal regimes may be differentiated, in order to be adapted to their respective subject matter, but the economic and ethical principles are the same. Evolutionary innovation No one is trying to patent fire. Modern IPRs are me
