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  • Realizing that traditional knowledge holders stand outside the fold of intellectual property rights and are most often negatively affected by them, the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program has created a handbook that attempts to make intellectual property issues and protection options more understandable and readily available for traditional knowledge holders, human rights NGOs, and legal professionals. Its ultimate goal is to help local communities understand and identify potential protection mechanisms already present in the current intellectual property rights regime that may be applied to their knowledge. For communities that do not wish to participate in the IP regime, it offers suggestions and options to avoid inappropriate claims on their knowledge by others. In addition to introducing intellectual property concepts, this handbook contains a series of exercises to help the user to identify and classify types of knowledge, cultural aspects, and community goals related to specific knowledge claims. Through a series of exercises, it is possible for traditional knowledge holders to identify whether or not specific intellectual property protection options are relevant and/or appropriate for their knowledge.

    An electronic version of the handbook is now available for download free of chargeat: http://shr.aaas.org/tek/handbook/

    Print copies will become available in the coming weeks for a nominal fee to cover printing and shipping charges. Check the website for updates on distribution.

    For more information, contact Stephen Hansen at shansen@aaas.org

    Justin W. VanFleet
    Project Coordinator
    Science and Intellectual Property in the Public Interest
    Science and Human Rights Program
    American Association for the
    Advancement of Science (AAAS)
    1200 New York Ave., NW
    Washington, DC 20005 USA
    Tel: 1 202 326 6220
    Fax: 1 202 289 4950
    jvanflee@aaas.org
    http://shr.aaas.org
    http://sippi.aaas.org
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