ارزیابی پیش‌نویس سازمان جهانی مالکیت فکری برای حمایت از طب سنتی

Along with the wide and global acceptance of traditional medicine as a valuable treasure of rules and local customs for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, economic benefits arising from traditional medicine have attracted pharmaceutical multinationals to utilize this knowledge that is mainly created by the indigenous and local communities in developing countries to produce new drugs. In many cases, the knowledge is used without permission and fair and equitable benefits (biopiracy) which has been given rise to the objection of knowledge owners. While a number of international and domestic laws and regulations have been established to provide protection for traditional knowledge and medicine, due to insufficiency of the set-up mechanisms, the necessity of legal action to protect traditional medicine is still an issue. On this basis, WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) is handling negotiations with the objective of reaching agreement on a text of an international legal instrument that would address the gaps in detail. Accordingly, this Article analyses the Draft Articles and evaluates its weakness and strength in providing effective protection for traditional medicine. This article will also propose a number of suggestions that aim at improving the Draft Articles to achieve effective mechanisms for protection of traditional medicine. Please cite this article as: Zahedi M, Erfanmanesh MH. Evaluation of WIPO Draft Articles for Protection of Traditional Medicine. Iran J Med Law 2017; 11(42): 125-164.