Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Systems as global commons: rethinking intellectual property protection through the lens of indian epistemic tradition

The paradigm of intellectual property (IP) laws is entrenched in liberal Western notions of property and individual authorship. Recently, the paradigm has been extended without due consideration for Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Systems (IPKS) globally. The present paper advances the argument that there is an epistemological and axiological mismatch in the paradigm’s expansion into the realm of IPKS. Unlike the intellectual property regime that seeks to privatise and control knowledge through limited access and exclusivity, the knowledge philosophies of Indigenous Peoples, as examined here through Indian tradition, thrive on open dissemination. Based on the Vedas, Upanishads, and Buddhist scriptures, and in combination with Western critical analysis of intellectual property laws, this paper articulates a normative approach to recognising the status of IPKS as a global commons, freely available to promote human flourishing. Simultaneously, it suggests safeguards against corporatisation and biopiracy. The aim is to engage in an ontological orientation that transforms the regime into a commons-management system for traditional knowledge, taking into account the structure of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, adopted on 24 May 2024.