HOT OFF THE PRESSES – Sui Generis TK Bill Published In The Gazette
Roll up and hear the good news! Today the new sui generis Protection of Traditional Knowledge Bill was published in the Government Gazette, signalling a major step toward the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) in South Africa. Full text of the Bill available here. This Bill is based on the Protection of TK Bill drafted by the incumbent of the Stellenbosch Chair of IP Law (CIP), Prof Owen Dean, and was tabled in Parliament by Dr Wilmot James earlier this year amid widespread and serious criticism of Government’s current attempt at protecting TK through the Intellectual Property Laws...
Read MoreA New Tradition In Legislation
The South African government has created a new tradition in drafting and processing legislation through Parliament. This tradition manifests itself in the drafting of half-baked legislation with little or no regard to the provisions of the Constitution and then fighting a huge public outcry against the legislation on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. In some instances the government then concedes that aspects of the legislation are unconstitutional and it seeks to undertake the revision of that legislation on the floor of Parliament in an attempt to circumvent the claims of...
Read MoreNEW Traditional Knowledge Bill – Sui Generis Protection for TK
If you cannot beat them, join them. For that reason this Chair of IP has decided to announce a NEW sui generis Protection of Traditional Knowledge Bill in the hope that something may yet be done to save us all. Government’s current attempt at protecting traditional knowledge by amending current IP statutes remains an unmitigated disaster, the scope of which is yet to be fully realised. This Chair, among many others, has expressed its distress at the current Traditional Knowledge Bill (likely to be the Protection of Traditional Knowledge Act soon) in no uncertain terms. And despite the...
Read MoreThe Mad Hatter in Wonderland
So, the Department of Trade and Industry (“DTI”) has finally gone ahead and done it. It has caused the Government to pass the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill (the so-called “Traditional Knowledge Bill”) despite vociferous objections from all quarters. It has rushed headlong into terrain where no angel would venture through acute trepidation. It has entered Wonderland and assumed the role of the Mad Hatter. ”rushed headlong into terrain where no angel would venture through acute trepidation” The Vine Oracle (that is to be found in the vineyards of the Winelands)...
Read MoreTRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE – Legislation in the NEW tradition
“Ex Africa semper aliquid novi”, which can be freely translated from Latin to mean “there is always something new coming out of Africa”, said Pliny, the ancient Roman writer and scholar. Presumably then, as is the case now, the concept of “new” included an expression of sarcasm and deprecation as in “absurd, nonsensical and ridiculous”. Well, Pliny has been proved right once again. The Government is on the threshold of passing legislation to grant protection of, and the facility to derive revenue from the use of, so-called “traditional knowledge” (TK) – i.e. folklore,...
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