Safe Guarding Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka with Intellectual Property Rights

Abstract

This project report represents a safeguarding traditional knowledge of indigenous medicine with intellectual property rights in Sri Lanka. Traditional medicine has been practiced in Sri Lanka for 3000 years. At present there are four system in Sri Lanka viz. Ayurveda, desheeyacikithsa, Unani and Siddha. This project report generally focus of following issues of Traditional Medicinal Knowledge:protection, use and misappropriation. In international legislation system, there are some main recommended ways in protecting traditional knowledge from misappropriation. There are Indian Traditional Knowledge Data base, Nagoya protocol and Portugal's Sui Generis system. Butthese system also not fully safeguard to traditional knowledge from misappropriation. Sri Lanka has not yet been established a legislation system to protect traditional knowledge. Only has a patent low, with Cord No:36 of 2003 Act. It is only regarding to the Intellectual property rights, not related to the traditional knowledge. To protect traditional knowledge from misappropriation, Sri Lanka should be established a new legislation system and should be introduced a approvable fully safe data bases or recommended text. Because of Sri Lanka should have a internationally proved evidence to present in a misappropriation.