SHILLONG: Martin Luther Christian University hosted the national symposium on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the context of Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity which was held recently at the university campus at Nongrah.
The symposium aimed at creating awareness on IPR issues in Traditional Knowledge (TK) particularly biodiversity and its conservation. The inaugural function was held in the presence of the vice chancellor of the university, Vincent T Darlong and the keynote address was delivered by Vivek Srivastava, a scientist from National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow.
Srivastava presented a paper on the protection of intellectual property in plant-based research, in which he stated that intellectual property rights give legal protection to the work of intellect and allow
the owner to prevent others from unauthorised use of their work. He also highlighted on the importance of documentation of traditional knowledge and practices that will help for the patency of such knowledge.
Mebanlamphang Lyngdoh, Assistant Professor, Department of Music, MLCU highlighted the need to document Khasi traditional music in order to conserve, promote and popularise the unique cultural art to the rest of the world. He further added documentations would help in conservation and assist contemporary musicians or musicologists and future generations, to identify a particular technique and style of a particular musician.
The conference was held in collaboration with the State Council of Sciences, Technology and Environment (SCSTE), Bio-Resources Development Centre (BRDC) and North East Slow Food Agro-biodiversity Society, (NESFAS), Shillong.
