ABSTRACT
The majority of states seem to be conscious of the importance of traditional knowledge (TK) as being strictly related to the general interests of cultural diversity and sustainable development. However, for the adoption of a common standard in compliance with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) principles, it is necessary to remove any remaining ambiguities. An international uniform model would avoid the risk of competition between genetic resources (GR)-rich countries and the pressure for commodification of products, which risks lowering the level of biodiversity. However, such an achievement still seems a long way off given the reluctance of the most industrialized states to accept more than merely formal amendments for fear it could cause flaws in the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) system. On the other hand, a TRIPs-based title would not meet the demands of Indigenous/local communities, nor protect the general interests of mankind as they have been interpreted by the CBD and other multilateral conventions.
