Rodrigues, Edson Beas --- "Property Rights, Biocultural Resources and Two Tragedies: Some Lessons from Brazil" [2012] ELECD 329; in Bubela, Tania; Gold, Richard E. (eds), "Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge

Editor(s): Bubela, Tania; Gold, Richard E.

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848442238

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: Property Rights, Biocultural Resources and Two Tragedies: Some Lessons from Brazil

Author(s): Rodrigues, Edson Beas

Number of pages: 68

Extract:

5. Property rights, biocultural resources
and two tragedies: Some lessons from
Brazil
Edson Beas Rodrigues Jr1

INTRODUCTION

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) temporarily confer on their holders the
exclusive right to determine the use of the protected subject matter, taking into
account their personal interests.2 Because IPRs grant holders the freedom to
control their intangible assets and extract income,3 the right to exclude non-
authorized third parties from the enjoyment of protected subject matter is
deemed the fundamental attribute of IPRs.4 The right to exclude third parties
gives the holders of IPRs the prerogative to choose who can and cannot use
their intangible assets,5 regardless of any independent state intervention.6
In recent years, a plethora of public statements, sponsored by representa-
tives of local communities and developing countries, have advocated for the
adoption of international regimes to protect Intangible Biocultural Resources

1 I am indebted to Dr. Cristina Theodore Assimakopoulos and Prof. Eliana
Rodrigues (UNIFESP) for their valuable inputs and information, which were funda-
mental for preparing the itens related to the UNIFESP-Krahô case study. The present
work was only made possible thanks to the financial support received from the Centre
on Intellectual Property Policy at McGill University and from the Institute of
International Trade Law and Development (IDCID).
2 Larissa M. Katz, `Exclusion and Exclusivity in Property Law' (2008) Legal
Studies Research Paper ie 08 ­02 at 34­35.
3 James Boyle, `Foreword: the opposite of property?' (2003a) 66 (1­2) L. &
Comtemp. Probs ...