Publication: Poor People's Knowledge : Promoting Intellectual Property in Developing Countries
Date
2003
ISSN
Published
2003
Author(s)
Finger, J. Michael
Schuler, Philip
Abstract
This book aims to expand the
international discourse by: Calling attention to a broader
range of knowledge that has commercial potential in
developing countries. Bringing an economic dimension into
the discussion of traditional knowledge, where legal
analysis has thus far been at the forefront. Bringing out
the incentives for and concerns of poor people-which may be
different from those of corporate research, Northern
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), or already successful
entertainment stars. Demonstrating that the best answer is
sometimes a commercial one, for example, providing musicians
basic training in small business management or reform of
regulations that burden small businesses, rather than
obtaining formal patent or copyright protection. Calling
attention to the many income-earning (rather than the
income-using) dimensions of culture-to dispel the notion
that culture and commerce are necessarily in opposition.
Bringing out instances in which more or less standard legal
approaches have been effective as an antidote to the general
sense of conflict between traditional knowledge and normal
legal conceptions so as to identify the problems in which
legal innovation-beyond diligent application-is really
needed. Imbuing into the discourse a sense of the legal and
commercial tasks needed to solve a developmental
problem-away from "knowledge" as an isolated legal issue.
Citation
“Finger, J. Michael; Schuler, Philip. 2003. Poor People's Knowledge : Promoting Intellectual Property in Developing Countries. Trade and Development;. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/f0892add-b814-590c-af1b-80bba9ddd186 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”