• Biopiracy: the extent to which patent systems exploit traditional indigenous knowledge; the unauthorized and uncompensated taking of biological or genetic resources.
• Concerns biodiversity as the “common heritage of mankind” that must be preserved for future generations.
• With Western system of IPRs based on the premise that anything that is already known cannot be protected--and that the very nature of TK being communally disclosed--TK could be interpreted as not meeting the criteria for IP protection.