Traditional knowledge hot item for patents.

• Author: Louiseize, Kelly
• Position: Bio Talk

Northern Ontario Business introduces the first in a series of articles looking at the economics of bio-products.

Canadian Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) was born out of a need to support the creators and innovators of new ideas and knowledge through patents, trademarks, copyrights and secrecy. But today, a federal property expert is witnessing an increase in the number of prospectors searching for a piece of Aboriginal traditional knowledge.

Developing countries around the world are accessing the traditional knowledge, and sharing resources, says Jock Langford, senior policy analyst for intellectual property rights in the biodiversity convention office.

"That is what is driving the work in our office," he adds.

"That is why this is becoming a trade issue, becoming a property issue and becoming an environmental issue internationally."

"These issues are much bigger internationally than they are in Canada," he says.

Langford was a speaker at the Central Canada Boreal Summit and Expo 2003 in Timmins in May.

In Canada, the Aboriginal use of patents is not widely used, Langford says. Patents, for Native customs and medicines, remain for the most part unregistered, mostly because of the high cost attributed to them. In the new age of bio-products, prospectors are actively looking for the traditional knowledge for the purpose of patenting.

"That is something you should be aware of and do not think it is just about plants and animals. There seems to be a lot of activity targeting micro-organism bacteria."

John Craig, legal analyst with the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate, says that although there are bits and pieces of laws that aid Aboriginals in protecting their heritage, there is no special protection for First Nations and Aboriginal groups wanting to preserve traditional knowledge from patentees.

"What I would advise Aboriginal communities to do is to be cautious when sharing information."

Patents are sought for the purpose of acquiring certain rights over new knowledge and to protect new products, and processes from "free riders," Craig says.

Whoever gets to the patent office first obtains the patent, provided they can prove they have developed the idea.

Therefore, the only way Aboriginals are able to protect their heritage is "to use secrecy until decisions are made at the community level," Langford adds.

Even if the community decides to proceed with a patent, "any traditional knowledge will eventually become public," Langford...