Synergy of Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge: Holy Grail for Protection and Sustainable Future

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The symbiosis of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Traditional Knowledge (TK) has become indispensable for its creators and for the world's intellectual community at large. Evidently, the need for preservation, protection and promotion of TK has become inevitable for self-sustenance, economic prosperity of knowledge holders and competitive business advantage. Obviously, the promotion of TK is now widely recognized and it plays an eminent role in supporting TK-based community's livelihood and cultures. The exponential growth of TK has galvanized new forms of IP protection, especially for traditional medicine (TM). The traditional healthcare problems, complexities linked to IP in TK, and community knowledge are posing a gargantuan challenge to sustainable development, intellectual and cultural vitality. This paper stresses on the scope of TK, the avenues to protect it under the existing IPR regime. It incisively highlights the challenges faced by TK holders and the subsequent need for its protective regulation. The paper enunciates the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as a versatile global regulatory device to obviate the usurpation of documented knowledge. It imparts the vital prerequisites for TKDL and delineates the crucial role it plays, in preserving prized heritage and acceleration of modern research on Ayurveda. The synergy of IPR and TK continues to be nebulous but empirical evidence suggests the rationale for protecting TK within the IPR ambit. The sine qua non of TK protection is to tackle the major concerns like equity, conservation, preservation of traditional culture, bio-piracy, promotion and evolution of TK. The cardinal focus here is the urgent need for international coordination and cooperation to efficaciously safeguard and leverage TK. Any protective strategy should take into account the ethnic community and the attendant global dimensions. The bottom-line is that such a protection should be effectual, comprehensible and accessible to TK holders. Interfacing IPRs with TK rights will only pave the way for TK protection, knowledge enrichments on TM, well- articulated human resources creation and nourishment of TK culture.