The coming into force of the Nagoya Protocol in October will have great benefits for the defence of indigenous people's rights over their resources, and strengthen India's already robust protective measures, says Vikrant Rana.

"When an elder dies, a library burns"—this old African proverb may be the best way to understand traditional knowledge (TK).
Over the years, IP rights have been formulated as individual, monopolistic rights to protect the innovative, novel and utilitarian ideas of the human mind. TK was thus undervalued: every community has its customary practices, home remedies and cultural expression (folklore). However, the need to protect TK came to the forefront with the adoption of the global Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992.

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