Digital Documentation Of Indigenous Knowledge: An Argument For Modern Intellectual Property And Cultural Rights
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Ms. Harriet Thomas, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
ABSTRACT
The preservation of the life-long heritage of the indigenous communities is the main gist of Traditional Knowledge, crossing over from generations after generations of various farming tactics, medicinal systems, folklore, crafts and music. In order to widen the horizon of accessibility, for the public protecting their interest, the innovate step of digital libraries and databases have been bought into the picture, with the main objective of increasing accessibility and visibility. However, this new endeavor comes with new challenges with respect to ownership, control and equal benefit sharing. The Intellectual Property Laws possesses a significant influence majorly based on the Western ideology of individual rights, which mostly fail to include the collective, evolving, and oral nature of traditional knowledge. By shortlisting and studying the legal doctrines, statutory provisions, and judicial decisions, the study examines whether, the existing laws adequately protect the indigenous communities or increases its exposure to misuse. This paper dives through safeguards such as prior informed consent, benefit sharing, and Community autonomy, and finding out ways to integrate these principles into the legal systems. The paper is trying to outsee, whether the evaluation of innovative steps like the Traditional knowledge Digital Library (herein after referred to as TKDL) efficiently brings a balance between preservation, recognition of community contributions, and fair benefits. By scrutinizing and reviewing overseas developments, the current Indian legal instruments, and the community-oriented approaches, this study proposes a framework ensuring that the community rights are protected to the maximum, while digital documentation takes a toll. Digital documentation reflects upon the significance of cultural survival and empowerment at the same time a medium for biopiracy and exploitation, without adequate legal frameworks.
Keywords: Community, Preservation, Biopiracy, Benefit Sharing, Ownership, Innovative.
