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An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation
For centuries, indigenous communities have survived the harshest of environments and conditions by living off the land and relying on valuable knowledge which has been passed down from generation to generation. This way of life and cultural practice has impacted, not only the lives and livelihoods o...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | Eng |
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Department of Commercial Law
2024
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| _version_ | 1867614451984760832 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Peek, Cailin |
| author2 | Nkomo, Marumo |
| author_browse | Nkomo, Marumo Peek, Cailin |
| author_facet | Nkomo, Marumo Peek, Cailin |
| author_sort | Peek, Cailin |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | For centuries, indigenous communities have survived the harshest of environments and conditions by living off the land and relying on valuable knowledge which has been passed down from generation to generation. This way of life and cultural practice has impacted, not only the lives and livelihoods of the communities from where the knowledge has originated, but it has also been instrumental and inspirational in the development of products and innovation in various economic sectors. This knowledge, which has been termed indigenous or traditional knowledge, has been used by developed and developing countries in a variety of ways and has been vital in bringing global awareness to issues such as the protection of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Indigenous knowledge is more than a farming practice or a tribal design, it is knowledge which is intrinsically linked to the spirit and identity of its people. Unfortunately, just as biodiversity and the world's natural resources have come under threat, so to, has indigenous knowledge. Across the globe, indigenous knowledge is being harvested from communities and used in a manner where the indigenous communities themselves have received little or no benefit. In many instances the indigenous communities have not authorised the use of their knowledge or it is used in a manner which is culturally offensive and harms the belief systems of these communities. This paper will focus on the importance of recognising and protecting the valuable resource which is indigenous knowledge. By examining the challenges faced at international and regional level with regard to the appropriate protection for indigenous knowledge and the instruments created by the South African government, this paper aims to address the debate on what an appropriate method of protection is, not only in the protection offered to indigenous knowledge, but by assessing which approach will be more compatible with certain regional instruments which have been proposed and implemented and further, which legislative framework will be more suitable once an international approach is adopted. While the recognition and protection of indigenous knowledge is of paramount importance, the way in which it is recognised and protected plays a role in how effective the protection will be. Aligning the protection offered in South Africa to proposed regional and international approaches will ensure a broader and more effective method of recognition and protection and will ensure that the objectives of protecting this resource are met. This paper will highlight the challenges and different approaches adopted in the South African legislation and offer an opinion on which approach will be more adaptable and aligned with future regional and international instruments created to recognise and protect indigenous knowledge. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40758 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | Eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:52:15.807Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | Department of Commercial Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Commercial Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40758 An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation Peek, Cailin Nkomo, Marumo Bradstreet Richard Commercial Law For centuries, indigenous communities have survived the harshest of environments and conditions by living off the land and relying on valuable knowledge which has been passed down from generation to generation. This way of life and cultural practice has impacted, not only the lives and livelihoods of the communities from where the knowledge has originated, but it has also been instrumental and inspirational in the development of products and innovation in various economic sectors. This knowledge, which has been termed indigenous or traditional knowledge, has been used by developed and developing countries in a variety of ways and has been vital in bringing global awareness to issues such as the protection of biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Indigenous knowledge is more than a farming practice or a tribal design, it is knowledge which is intrinsically linked to the spirit and identity of its people. Unfortunately, just as biodiversity and the world's natural resources have come under threat, so to, has indigenous knowledge. Across the globe, indigenous knowledge is being harvested from communities and used in a manner where the indigenous communities themselves have received little or no benefit. In many instances the indigenous communities have not authorised the use of their knowledge or it is used in a manner which is culturally offensive and harms the belief systems of these communities. This paper will focus on the importance of recognising and protecting the valuable resource which is indigenous knowledge. By examining the challenges faced at international and regional level with regard to the appropriate protection for indigenous knowledge and the instruments created by the South African government, this paper aims to address the debate on what an appropriate method of protection is, not only in the protection offered to indigenous knowledge, but by assessing which approach will be more compatible with certain regional instruments which have been proposed and implemented and further, which legislative framework will be more suitable once an international approach is adopted. While the recognition and protection of indigenous knowledge is of paramount importance, the way in which it is recognised and protected plays a role in how effective the protection will be. Aligning the protection offered in South Africa to proposed regional and international approaches will ensure a broader and more effective method of recognition and protection and will ensure that the objectives of protecting this resource are met. This paper will highlight the challenges and different approaches adopted in the South African legislation and offer an opinion on which approach will be more adaptable and aligned with future regional and international instruments created to recognise and protect indigenous knowledge. 2024-11-29T09:38:59Z 2024-11-29T09:38:59Z 2023 2024-05-31T12:15:19Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40758 Eng application/pdf Department of Commercial Law Faculty of Law |
| spellingShingle | Commercial Law Peek, Cailin An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation |
| title_full | An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation |
| title_fullStr | An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation |
| title_short | An Investigation into the Legal Framework in South Africa Regulating the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge: Assessing the Efficacy of the Current and Proposed Legislation |
| title_sort | investigation into the legal framework in south africa regulating the protection of indigenous knowledge assessing the efficacy of the current and proposed legislation |
| topic | Commercial Law |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40758 |
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