Geographical Indication (GI) options for Ethiopian Coffee and Ghanaian Cocoa

The Policy Context for a Commons-Based Approach to Traditional Knowledge
cultural norms and regulations that govern TK, freedom of access and prior
informed consent. The CBD also leaves room for flexibility, as it provides minimum
standards, but not mandatory harmonisation.
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883)
The Paris Convention was the first major treaty designed for the international
protection of intellectual creations in the form of industrial property rights,
including inventions (patents), trademarks and industrial designs. In the context
of a potential TK commons, the Paris Convention’s provisions on geographical
indications, collective marks and certification marks all have the potential to play
roles in identification of particular types of TK commons (Art. 7bis).
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (1970)
The PCT provides a system of simultaneous patent application filing for an invention
in each of a large number of countries. The existing patent search databases
maintained by the International Bureau of WIPO and other regional and national
registration bodies could be helpful in the case of formalisation of a TK commons
via establishment of an electronic TK database (see CSIR, n.d.).
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (International Seed Treaty) (2001)
This treaty recognises the contribution of ILCs in farming, conservation and
development of plant varieties, and aims to ensure that any benefits derived from
the use of genetic resources by third parties are shared with the communities
from which they originate.
UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007)
This declaration emphasises the rights of indigenous peoples in relation to the
maintenance and strengthening of their own institutions, cultures and traditions,
and their rights to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and
aspirations, including through documentation systems.
Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge
and Expressions of Folklore (2010)
In the context of potential formalisation of a TK commons, the Swakopmund
Protocol, developed by Member States of the African Regional Intellectual
Property Organisation (ARIPO), reaffirms the fact that TK ought to be
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