Book Review: "Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Intellectual Property in the Twenty-First Century: Perspectives from Southern Africa"

The identification of features of oral studies and especially the issue of conflict and their terms of reference, have recently become a topic of increasing interest among researchers in Southern Africa. The National Research Foundation is nowadays encouraging academics to focus on the area of indigenous knowledge systems. Included in that focus area is the recommendation that research should be done on the impact that indigenous knowledge has on lifestyles and the ways in which societies operate. The study of ways in which specific societies articulate issues of conflict is inextricably linked with the way in which language is used in particular communities. This study deals with African and specifically Zulu communities, and how the mnemonic oral tradition plays an essential role in the oral strategies used as a means of dealing with issues of conflict. These strategies are based on an age-old mnemonic oral tradition which is socialised and used as an acceptable norm of group behaviour. Furthermore it is an acceptable way of managing and expressing conflict in social situations where direct verbal confrontation is frowned upon and deemed unacceptable.

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Legitimacy of Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights’ claims

Strathmore Law Review ◽

10.52907/slr.v1i1.88 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 165-190

Author(s):

Wanjiku Karanja

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Property ◽

Property Rights ◽

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Intellectual Property Rights ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽

Access To Knowledge ◽

Traditional Cultural Expressions ◽

Wide Usage

The notions of indigenous peoples, indigenous knowledge, and heritage and culture have acquired wide usage in international debates on sustainable development and intellectual property protection since the turn of the 20th century. This paper, through an examination of the concept of intellectual property and its intersection with culture and heritage, elucidates the nature and scope of indigenous intellectual property rights as represented by traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources. This paper, through a review of the interface between indigenous knowledge systems and the intellectual property law regime, illustrates the limitations of conventional intellectual property rights systems i.e.: copyright, patent, trade secrets and trademark in providing adequate recognition and protection for indigenous intellectual property rights. It also posits that the establishment of a sui generis system of protection offers a plausible solution to the inadequacy of the existing regimes of protection. This paper ultimately seeks to illustrate indigenous people’s legitimate rights to control, access and utilize in any way, including restricting others’ access to, knowledge or information that derives from their unique cultural histories, expressions, practices and contexts, towards the creation of a better society.

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Colonizing Innovation:

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management ◽

10.33114/adim.2019.01.261 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Abhinav CHATURVEDI ◽

Alf REHN

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Postcolonial Theory ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Frugal Innovation ◽

Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽

Management Literature

Innovation is one of the most popular concepts and desired phenomena of contemporary Western capitalism. As such, there is a perennial drive to capture said phenomena, and particularly to find new ways to incite and drive the same. In this text, we analyze one specific tactic through which this is done, namely by the culturally colonial appropriation of indigenous knowledge systems. By looking to how jugaad, a system of frugal innovation in India, has been made into fodder for Western management literature, we argue for the need of a more developed innovation critique, e.g., by looking to postcolonial theory.

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Indigenous Environmental Justice, Knowledge, and Law

Kalfou A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies ◽

10.15367/kf.v5i2.213 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Deborah McGregor

Keyword(s):

Environmental Justice ◽

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Indigenous Worldviews ◽

Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽

The World ◽

Innovative Approaches

This article aims to introduce a distinct conception of Indigenous environmental justice (IEJ) based on Indigenous legal orders, knowledge systems, and conceptions of justice. This is not to suggest in any way that the existing environmental justice (EJ) scholarship is flawed; in fact, the scholarship and activism around EJ have been central in diagnosing and drawing attention to injustices that occur on a systematic basis everywhere in the world. This article argues instead that such discussions can be expanded by acknowledging that concepts of environmental justice, including distinct legal orders informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, already existed on Turtle Island for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans. It also suggests that environmental justice framed within Indigenous worldviews, ontologies, and epistemologies may make significant contributions to broader EJ scholarship, particularly in relation to extending justice to other beings and entities in Creation. This approach acknowledges ongoing colonialism and emphasizes the need to decolonize in order to advance innovative approaches to IEJ.

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