TY - JOUR

T1 - Intellectual property rights systems and the assemblage of local knowledge systems.

AU - Vermeylen, Saskia

AU - Martin, George

AU - Clift, Roland

N1 - http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JCP The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, International Journal of Cultural Property, 15 (2), pp 201-221 2008, © 2008 Cambridge University Press.

PY - 2008/5

Y1 - 2008/5

N2 - The mounting loss of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples presents environmental as well as ethical issues. Fundamental among these is the sustainability of indigenous societies and their ecosystems. Although the commercial expropriation of traditional knowledge grows, rooted in a global, corporate application of intellectual property rights (IPRs), the survival of indigenous societies becomes more problematic. One reason for this is an unresolved conflict between two perspectives. In the modernist view, traditional knowledge is a tool to use (or discard) for the development of indigenous society, and therefore it must be subordinated to Western science. Alternatively, in the postmodernist view, it is harmonious with nature, providing a new paradigm for human ecology, and must be preserved intact. We argue that this encumbering polarization can be allayed by shifting from a dualism of traditional and scientific knowledge to an assemblage of local knowledge, which is constituted by the interaction of both in a third space. We argue that IPR can be reconfigured to become the framework for creating such a third space.

AB - The mounting loss of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples presents environmental as well as ethical issues. Fundamental among these is the sustainability of indigenous societies and their ecosystems. Although the commercial expropriation of traditional knowledge grows, rooted in a global, corporate application of intellectual property rights (IPRs), the survival of indigenous societies becomes more problematic. One reason for this is an unresolved conflict between two perspectives. In the modernist view, traditional knowledge is a tool to use (or discard) for the development of indigenous society, and therefore it must be subordinated to Western science. Alternatively, in the postmodernist view, it is harmonious with nature, providing a new paradigm for human ecology, and must be preserved intact. We argue that this encumbering polarization can be allayed by shifting from a dualism of traditional and scientific knowledge to an assemblage of local knowledge, which is constituted by the interaction of both in a third space. We argue that IPR can be reconfigured to become the framework for creating such a third space.

U2 - 10.1017/S0940739108080144

DO - 10.1017/S0940739108080144

M3 - Journal article

VL - 15

SP - 201

EP - 221

JO - International Journal of Cultural Property

JF - International Journal of Cultural Property

SN - 1465-7317

IS - 2

ER -