Global Biopiracy: Patents, Plants, and Indigenous Knowledge / Edition 1

by Ikechi Mgbeoji

Overview

"Biopiracy raises serious issues pertaining to the conservation of biological diversity and genetic resources in agriculture, the integrity of plant life forms, a just international economic order, and development. Since the emergence of the biotechnology industry, 'biopiracy' has become a lightning rod for activists."—from the Introduction

The appropriation of plants and traditional knowledge by corporations and other entities is often called biopiracy. Such practices arise from a cultural milieu that systematically marginalizes non-Western forms of knowledge, which are devalued as "folk knowledge" or characterized as inferior. Global Biopiracy rethinks the role of international law and legal concepts, global patent systems, and international agricultural research institutions as they affect legal ownership and control of plants and the knowledge that makes them valuable.

Ikechi Mgbeoji first examines the Western assumptions and biases that inform the patent system, international law, and institutions affecting farmers around the globe. He next analyzes the cultural and economic traits that divide the industrialized world and the developing world. Finally, Mgbeoji confronts the phenomenal loss of human cultures and plant diversity that has already occurred and that will continue in the future unless protective measures are implemented and enforced.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801473111
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	08/15/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	951,757
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.73(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ikechi Mgbeoji is a Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, and the author of Collective Insecurity: The Liberian Crisis, Unilateralism, and Global Order.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Teresa Scassa     ix
Preface     xi
Acknowledgments     xiii
Acronyms     xv
Introduction     1
Patents, Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge, and Biopiracy     9
Implications of Biopiracy for Biological and Cultural Diversity     50
The Appropriative Aspects of Biopiracy     87
Patent Regimes and Biopiracy     119
Conclusion     179
Notes     201
Selected Bibliography     280
Index     305

What People are Saying About This

James T. Gathii

Ikechi Mgbeoji masterfully unearths the technicalities and subtleties of the issue of biopiracy and exposes the underappreciation of the role of women and farmers and the 'masculinization' of knowledge. This book is a must-read for those interested in biopiracy.

From the Publisher

"In this book, Ikechi Mgbeoji addresses biopiracy in an entirely new light. He masterfully unearths the technicalities and subtleties of the issue and exposes the under—appreciation of the role of women and farmers and the ‘masculinization’ of knowledge. This book is a must—read for those interested in biopiracy."—James T. Gathii, Albany Law School

"This book is at the forefront of the literature on this important topic … Dr. Mgbeoji’s understanding of the relevant law and institutions, his impressive grasp of the literature across a range of disciplines, and his clarity of vision inform this book and its cogent message … This book is very much a product of his unique intellect: it is a challenging, engaging, ambitious, and ultimately very important work."—Teresa Scassa, Dalhousie Law School, Halifax

Teresa Scassa

This book is at the forefront of the literature on this important topic … Dr. Mgbeoji’s understanding of the relevant law and institutions, his impressive grasp of the literature across a range of disciplines, and his clarity of vision inform this book and its cogent message … This book is very much a product of his unique intellect: it is a challenging, engaging, ambitious, and ultimately very important work.

Editorial Reviews

"Ikechi Mgbeoji masterfully unearths the technicalities and subtleties of the issue of biopiracy and exposes the underappreciation of the role of women and farmers and the 'masculinization' of knowledge. This book is a must-read for those interested in biopiracy."—James T. Gathii, Albany Law School

From the Publisher