The Linkage between Traditional Knowledge as an Intellectual Property Right and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The Entrepreneurship has always been existing in different fields, for instance: in the television industry, in the textile industry, in the industrial design industry, in the tourism industry, in the transport industry, in the food- processing industry, in the publishing industry and so on. As can be appreciated on the brief catalogue above mentioned, Entrepreneurship emerges in almost every field that human imagination may cover. However, this emergence or increase in the Traditional Knowledge field needs to be underpinned by Intellectual Property Rights support. The World Intellectual Property Organization defines the concept of Traditional Knowledge as traditional cultural expressions, knowledge resulting from intellectual activity in a traditional context, and includes know how, practices, skills and innovations. As the definition shows it is a new scope to discover and to investigate whether due to the enormous quantity of discovered and undetected Traditional Knowledge all over the world or due to the lack of international legal protection in terms of Intellectual Property Rights for Traditional Knowledge. This article intends to clarify and standardize the scope of protection for Traditional Knowledge in order to be a guide for entrepreneurs who may desire to innovate and invest in the field of Traditional Knowledge as a new source of value addition for industries.