Tuesday 24 June 2008

Njuguna

Kenya to protect its traditional knowledge and artifacts


Daily Nation reports that Kenya is to establish an inventory on its artifacts and traditional knowledge, which will then be registered (protected) under the custody of the National Museum.

This comes after the failed attempt to register KIKOI as trade mark in UK, reported here and here. The report indicates that a committee of stakeholders comprising Kenya Industrial Property Institute, Copyright Office, the department of culture, National Museum of Kenya and the Attorney General’s Office has been formed to develop “a legal and Institutional framework to protect cultural products and expressions.”

The committee will also identify cultural artefacts that can be commercially exploited with a view to protecting them to guard against exploitation by foreigners.

Details of the working of the committee are not clear from the Nation report and it will be interesting to know what proposals or legal framework the committee will come up with on how to protect artifacts and traditional knowledge.

Njuguna

Njuguna

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