Traditional Knowledge
What is Traditional Knowledge?
Traditional knowledge (TK) is knowledge, know-how, skills, and practices that are developed, sustained, and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity.
While there is not yet an accepted definition of TK at the international level, it can be said that:
TK in a general sense embraces the content of knowledge itself as well as traditionalculturalexpressions, including distinctive signs and symbols associated with TK.
TK in the narrow sense refers to knowledge as such, the knowledge resulting from intellectual activity in a traditional context, and includes know-how, practices, skills, and innovations.
Traditional knowledge can be found in a wide variety of contexts, including agricultural, scientific, technical, ecological, and medicinal knowledge as well as biodiversity-related knowledge.
Traditional Knowledge
Traditional knowledge and Intellectual property
Innovations based on TK may benefit from patent, trademark, and geographicalindication protection, or be protected as a trade secret or confidential information. However, traditional knowledge as such – knowledge that has ancient roots and is often oral – is not protected by conventional Intellectualproperty (IP) systems.