GUIYANG: Chinese law experts are turning to the rules of intellectual property (IP) protection to safeguard the value of the country's crafts, folk medicine and even plant genes against what they say is foreign exploitation.

The Guizhou Provincial regulation on traditional knowledge protection, the first of its kind statute, will help the owners of folk arts, traditional knowledge and genetic materials to safeguard their rights, says Yao Xin, an official with the Rule, Regulation and Law Department under the State Intellectual Property Office.

Examples of potential IP issues vary widely.

Japanese and Korean companies have been analyzing the molecular make-up of guanyin cao, a type of grass used by generations of Miao ethnic people in Guizhou to cure colds and bronchial problems. Chinese drug makers could suffer large economic losses if foreign researchers patented therapies based on the plant.

Another tradition is the Miao ethic dress, which some in China see as "wearing history" or a "wordless history book". These garments, famous for their elegant designs and delicate needlework techniques passed down from generation to generation, have become a popular collectible among foreign art aficionados.

More than 180 magnificent Miao garments are on display in a private museum in Paris, including 15 rare pieces used for sacrificial rites. That's larger than the collection in the garment's hometown of Guizhou, according to Lei Xiuwu, researcher of Miao and Dong ethnic culture in southeastern Guizhou.

Within 100 years, says Lei, "Chinese people may have to go abroad if they want to study the Miao ethnic culture".

Plants are at issue, too. Gene "hunters" and folk art collectors are among those looking to profit from China's flora, fauna and cultural reserves.

Of the 20,140 plant resources that the United States was said to have imported from China as of June 30, 2002, there were 4,452 varieties of soybean, including 168 wild strains.

However, only 2,177 plants were approved for export by Chinese authorities as of that date, and wild soybeans were not even on the list, according to Wu Xiaoqing, deputy head of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

That explains why China, the native soil of soybeans and home to more than 90 percent of global wild soybean resources, is now the world's largest importer of the crop. The majority of China's soybean resources have been patented by other countries.

In addition, Japan has patented 210 prescriptions listed in two ancient Chinese medical books.

To curb these practices, which many in China see as theft, experts from the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences and local universities spent nearly two years on field research in more than 40 counties as they drew up the rules.

The draft is now subject to comment and revision before it is submitted to the local legislature for approval in the second quarter of next year.

The regulation stipulates that any foreign organization or individual who studies, uses or develops traditional knowledge concerning genetic material without the approval of the owners must pay between 50,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan in compensation.

The regulation is aimed at protecting Chinese traditional technologies, folk literature and art, and biological traditional knowledge, which have been passed down through the generations but now have commercial value.

It also has clear rules on the development, administration and profit distribution of traditional knowledge and punishment for IP infringement.

"Guizhou has made a significant attempt in slowing the outflow of China's valuable traditional heritage," says Yao.

Even if the regulations pose unanticipated problems, the exercise can still be a good lesson for other local and even State-level authorities when it comes to future legislation, says Yao.

Some national authorities are studying the feasibility of a national law to protect traditional knowledge.

The provincial regulation will improve the awareness of IP protection among the custodians of traditional knowledge and help those living in underdeveloped regions receive reasonable benefits, according to An Shouhai, vice director with Guizhou Provincial Intellectual Property Rights Bureau.

Many developing countries have been trying to protect their traditional knowledge based on the IP system - for example, Thailand, India and Egypt have passed local or State-level laws.

But some observers in developing countries say modern laws aren't much good when it comes to protecting informally transmitted traditional knowledge, and they have urged binding international agreements to protect these arts and technologies.

(Xinhua) 

2013-07-17