Protective Strategies for the Ownership of Traditional Medicine Knowledge

Abstract

This paper discusses the ownership of traditional medicine knowledge by drawing empirical data on the
experience of the indigenous communities in Mentawai, Indonesia, and Sabah, Malaysia. For a long time,
the acquisition of traditional medicine knowledge and the treatment of patients has been deemed the result
of cultural heritage handed down from generation to generation. However, the complexity of the knowledge
acquisition process and the skill displayed by the healer or kerei prove that traditional medicine knowledge
qualifies as intellectual property. An appropriate protection strategy is identified based on the traditional
knowledge ownership map in indigenous communities. This study reveals that not every traditional medicine
knowledge and practices are “common properties”. Therefore, the study suggests that traditional medicine
knowledge, like any other intellectual properties, must be protected through intellectual property rights not
only to protect the cultural and economic rights of indigenous people but also to protect the environment.