To most people today, intellectual property is something software and pharmaceutical companies claim for their inventions. But for indigenous peoples worldwide, intellectual property includes such things as traditional medicines, knowledge, and foods.
In its recent decision, the UN Intellectual Property Tribunal ruled South American Indians should receive 1% royalties on the profits from potato sales. As creators of the world’s fourth largest food crop, Indians in Peru would receive $200 million annually.
And that’s not small potatoes.
The library is dedicated to the memory of Secwepemc Chief George Manuel (1921-1989), to the nations of the Fourth World and to the elders and generations to come.
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