0.8 Traditional knowledge  (Page 21/24)

Collective trademarks, certification marks, and geographic indicators

Collective trademarks, certification marks, and geographic indicators form a subset of trademark law that could be particularly useful for the protection of TK. Collective trademarks are trademarks that are used by a group of producers rather than one producer. Collective marks are held by an association rather than an individual; in order to be useful for protecting TK, members of indigenous groups would need to form an association for the purpose of marking their cultural expressions.

Certification marks indicate that the producer of a good has met certain standards of quality. (A popular example is the  Good Housekeeping certification prominent on household products sold in the United States.) Certification marks could be used to specify which TCEs meet the standards of the indigenous community in which they originated. This, like a collective trademark, would require the formation an official oversight organization to act on behalf of the indigenous community in determining which expressions can bear the certification mark.

Geographic indicators, as the name suggests, are marks that can be placed on products that come from a specific geographic area. Geographic indicators are often used for food products, such as wines, but some indigenous groups have experimented with using geographic indicators as a means of protecting cultural expressions by authenticating products that are sold elsewhere. One example of such a program is the Alaskan  Silver Hand Program .

Sui generis laws

As we have seen, where TK does not map onto traditional intellectual property regimes,  sui generis  laws may be adopted.  Sui generis  legislation is a promising route for advocates of TK protection, as it can provide strong protection while avoiding the hurdles that separate TK from traditional IP subject matter.

Absolute ownership

One possibility for TK protection is to give absolute ownership of the cultural expression to the indigenous group from which it originated. However, this is relatively unpopular option, as it would impede the spread of knowledge and risk the loss of cultural expressions and information in the event that the group is disbanded or its members are assimilated into the general population.

Negotiation and mutual respect

Michael Brown argues that the law should, at most, foster "negotiation and mutual respect" between indigenous cultures and those who seek to employ a culture's traditional expressions. This approach would give indigenous groups much less protection, but would facilitate, he argues, beneficial cultural interchange.

International human rights

Other scholars, such as Laurence R. Helfer, approach the issue as one of Human Rights. They advocate granting TK protection that is fair and balanced and not overreaching. Their ambition is to balance the needs of indigenous groups and the benefits of a robust public domain.

In this vein,  Duncan M. Matthews  points out that "a human rights approach takes what is often an implicit balance between the rights of inventors and creators and the interests of the wider society within intellectual property paradigms and it makes it far more explicit and exacting.... [T]he rights of the creator are not absolute but conditional on contributing to the common good and welfare of society.... [B]ecause a human rights approach also establishes a different and often more exacting standard for evaluating the appropriateness of granting intellectual property protection, in order for intellectual property to fulfill the conditions necessary to be recognised as a universal human right, intellectual property regimes and the manner they are implemented first and foremost must be consistent with the realisation of the other human rights, particularly those enumerated in the Covenant."