In May 2024, following 25 years of negotiations, the World Intellectual Property Organisation made a landmark decision and adopted the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. This treaty advances international, regional, and national regulatory frameworks and presents an opportunity for Pacific peoples to improve the management of traditional knowledge (TK) and heritage. The ongoing law reform agenda has raised local expectations about potential benefits arising from greater participation in international and regional negotiations. But while there is an appetite for new TK and heritage protection, reforms need to be consistent with existing practices in the region, including cultural development. They need to operate alongside custom and customary law and support existing community expectations.
Across the Pacific region, customary law is integral to existing regulatory frameworks and everyday practice. This is not well understood in the international literature about TK and intellectual property, leading to problems in the implementation of international treaties.
Solamalemalo Dr. Hai-Yuean Tualima is an expert in custom, customary law, traditional knowledge and intellectual property in the Pacific. Currently she is a Senior Law Lecturer at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. Her PhD research in Samoa, using Talanoa Research Methodology, offers practical solutions for the protection and preservation of traditional knowledge.
About CPICL Seminars
The Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law (CPICL) regularly hosts a series of seminars and events that serve as dynamic platforms for intellectual exchange and scholarly dialogue. These gatherings bring together leading experts, researchers, and practitioners from around the world to discuss pressing legal issues and emerging trends in public, international, and comparative law. Our seminars and events are designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, stimulate innovative thinking, and provide valuable insights into complex legal challenges. Through these engagements, CPICL not only disseminates its cutting-edge research but also contributes to shaping the global legal landscape.
This seminar is proudly supported by The Centre for Policy Futures.