Therapies originating from traditional medical systems are widely used by patients in both India and the United States. The first India-US Workshop on Traditional Medicine was held in New Delhi, India, on March 3 and 4, 2016, as a collaboration between the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) of the Government of India, the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health, and the Office of Global Affairs, US Department of Health and Human Services. It was attended by Indian and US policymakers, scientists, academics, and medical practitioners from various disciplines. The workshop provided an opportunity to open a dialogue between AYUSH and NCI to identify promising research results and potential topics for Indo-US collaboration. Recommendations that emerged from the workshop underlined the importance of applying rational and scientific approaches for drug development; standardizing traditional medicine products and procedures to ensure reliability and reproducibility; promotion of collaboration between Indian traditional medicine practitioners and researchers and US researchers; greater integration of evidence-based traditional medicine practices with mainstream medical practices in India; and development of training programs between AYUSH and NCI to facilitate crosstraining. Several positive developments took place after the thought-provoking deliberations.

No abstract

Traditional knowledge (TK) is under debate in the contemporary world for its inherent value and need for protection from ‘biopiracy’. International consensus is proving difficult on defining its scope and ambit of protection. Traditional health knowledge (THK) is a promising domain of TK which, due to its immense economic and commercial value, is prone to misappropriation. International provisions exist for protection and definitions of TK and related resources at various fora such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. Proposals to protection of TK under Intellectual Property Right regimes are being addressed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The text of a proposed treaty is being debated at WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC-GRTKF). This article spells out the issues being negotiated at the WIPO-IGC-GRTKF. With THK characterised in a tiered manner based on its secret or diffused public availability, consideration of customary law is an imperative. India proposed that the national governments be given status of knowledge holders for THK in the public domain and fiduciary rights in case of closely held/associated THK. The article finds that a comprehensive national policy instrument and sui generis law for the protection of THK have become especially urgent in the light of international debates. It also proposes that, rather than Intellectual property (IP), the framework of a ‘knowledge commons’ for just sharing of TK and its innovations may be a better option.