New intellectual property treaty does little to protect Māori traditional knowledge, say researchers

New intellectual property treaty does little to protect Māori traditional knowledge, say researchers

The problem of "biopiracy"—the misappropriation and patenting for profit of Indigenous knowledge—has been on the rise for some time. So a global treaty aimed at protecting traditional knowledge and genetic resources should be a welcome development.

New treaty addresses intellectual property for genetic resources and traditional knowledge - The Gisborne Herald

As a member state of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo), New Zealand has agreed to a groundbreaking new treaty addressing intellectual property in relation to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge that could help with the protection of mātauranga Māori.  Manu Caddie was one of the only Māori outside the New Zealand Government delegation at final negotiations for the treaty in Geneva last month, and worked with …