The proposed two day National Seminar on “Effective Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expression: National and Community Experiences” is to be organized by National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam in collaboration with North East Centre, New Delhi.The main aim of the Conference will be specifically highlighting the significance and contribution of North Eastern part of India in the realm of Intellectual Property Rights.
The eight states of the North Eastern part of India viz. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Sikkim are well known for rich repositories of Traditional Knowledge (hereinafter referred as TK) and Traditional Cultural Expression (hereinafter referred as TCEs /folklore) based on resources relating to biological diversity, genetic resources, folklores and geographical indication.
The abundant diversity has given this region a rich cultural heritage and unique ethnicity. TK and TCEs comprise a significant part of the IPR domain. Both TK and TCEs encompasses a vast body of knowledge pertaining to diverse fields like agriculture, medicine, biodiversity, biological resources, environment, forestry, music, art, culture, tradition, etc., usually held by certain indigenous communities in a given territory.
However, it is not limited to this category only. Unfortunately, any universally accepted definition of the terms TK, as well as TCEs, have not been developed yet. Although many working definitions are available that are more or less similar in nature, various terms like indigenous knowledge, local knowledge, community knowledge, cultural heritage, aboriginal tradition, traditional ecological knowledge etc. are synonymously used for TK.
It is now a well-established fact that both TK and TCEs are of enormous economic value. It has become an important source for new industrial inventions in many sectors. Gone are the days when it was looked down upon as inferior, ancient and unscientific by modern science. In the present state-of-art development, TK and TCEs play an important role in the global economy.
It is not only valuable for the indigenous, local people who largely depend on it for different pursuits of their life, but also to modern industrial and agricultural sector in terms of procurement of raw materials and application of traditional techniques for enhancing agricultural production and productivity in a sustainable way. The value and contribution of TK and TCEs is also immense in the field of pharmaceutical and medical sciences.
In spite of the Northeast region being plentiful in TK and TCEs and people deriving benefits out of it, most of the resources relating to the same have remained untapped and unexplored. The main challenges pertaining to TK is its misappropriation and lack of proper legal protection, inadequate documentation, commercial exploitation, illegal bio- trading, unsustainable extraction of natural resources, etc.
However, most often it is also felt that because of the absence of sui generis law on this area, the TK and TCEs is yet to receive adequate legal protection. Keeping in view the above concerns, this Seminar will be an effort to throw some light on the protection of TK and TCEs with special reference to the North Eastern states of India.
On-spot Registration: online payment portal will open soon with conference website.
*Undergraduate Students of NLUJAA as well as other Universities are entitled to participation only.
Dates: 3rd and 4th May, 2019
Venue: Seminar Hall, Administrative Block, National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam, Hajo Road, Amingaon-781031, Kamrup (R), Guwahati, Assam.
E-mail: nationalseminartk@nluassam.ac.in