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property, some indigenous peoples aim to preventappropriation of natural and cultural resources.In such cases, there is a fundamental conflictbetween indigenous rights and (intellectual) property.In fundamental opposition to some indigenouscultures, many intellectual property systemsrecognise rights on inventions pertaining to livingmatter. In conventional patent systems, matterknown to the public belongs to the so-called publicdomain, thus preventing their protection andallowing their free use by anyone. Worse for someindigenous people, the concept of public domainassociated with traditional intellectual propertylaws has allowed for the appropriation of GR andTK for the development of inventions that aresubsequently patented.Intellectual Property Rights in Context. The rightsof indigenous peoples depend on and interactwith a wide range of other measures and policies,such as land tenure, environmental laws andprotection of endangered species, health, foodand agriculture, water quality, cultural heritageprotection, access to and exploitation of naturalresources, environmental management, and soilconservation. Within this broader horizon, intellectualproperty rights may play a positive role inencouraging creation or protection of indigenousrights. Such a role includes, for example, theprotection and disclosure of new intellectual creationsthrough the laws of patents and industrialdesigns or avoiding confusion and deception andpreventing unfair competition through the protectionof trademarks and geographical indications.Equally relevant are the safeguarding of the integrityof, and rights of attribution to, certain worksand creations through moral rights’ protection incopyright, and the protection of undisclosed informationfrom bad faith use or appropriation. Anexample of the use of intellectual property rightsin the protection of traditional knowledge relatesto traditional medicines in the People’s Republicof China, in respect of which several thousandpatents have been granted in past years. 118Way Forward. Notwithstanding useful aspects,many questions remain as well as importantconcerns:1. Conventional intellectual property rights mightnot offer indigenous peoples adequate protectionin situations where the resource, knowledgeor cultural expression is already publiclyknown. In this case, the creation of sui generissystems of protection is needed.2. The overall purpose of intellectual propertyrights for indigenous people in both positiveprotection and negative protection needs to befurther evaluated.3. Existing and future systems must ensure thatthey do not contribute to an undue misappropriationof certain intellectual assets of indigenouspeoples.International Dimension. In addition, because GR/TK and TCEs are often exploited in countries differentfrom the countries of origin, there are callsto establish international instruments that take accountof the intangible nature and cross-boundarynature of those components of indigenous life andheritage. This will require examination of complexissues, such as the question of ownership/custodianshipof rights, form of protection to be granted,ways for ensuring nationals of one country toenjoy rights in foreign countries, question of fairand equitable benefit-sharing in the internationalcontext, recognition of personal or moral rights ofindigenous people, ensuring that known resourcesor knowledge already in the public domain cannotbe subject to intellectual property rights, and theneed for enhanced international cooperation inareas such as mutual information, registration andmanagement of rights, among others.93