Research On Intellectual Property Protection Of Intangible Cultural Heritage

With the quickening of progress in global economy integration, it has become more and more important to preserve the human culture diversity and national specialties. Thus, the protection of intangible cultural heritage became a hot topic attracting the attentions from home and abroad. In 2003 UNESCO passed Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2004 our country joined the pact, and finally passed the People's Republic of China Intangible cultural heritage Protection Law in Feb. 25, 2011. However, it only made provisions for convergence with the existing provisions. Under this circumstance, based on our national environment and conditions this thesis properly quoted the worldwide experience in protecting intangible cultural heritage and discussed how to protect national intangible cultural heritage through effective and feasible legal approach. Hopefully, this thesis can contribute some useful suggestions to our national legislation, law-enforcement and judicial administration practice.This paper was divided into three parts: introduction, body and conclusion. The body was divided into three chapters.The first chapter: basic research on intangible cultural heritage protection. This chapter started from the concept of intangible cultural heritage and analyzed the concept and range of intangible cultural heritage, also the relationship between the traditional knowledge and relevant concepts and clarified the objects of intangible cultural heritage which can be protected by intellectual property, including folk literature and art, traditional technology, and traditional discriminating symbols. Furthermore, this thesis focused on the current plight, the purposes and the legitimacy of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage through intellectual property.The second chapter: intellectual property protection of intangible cultural heritage. First, this chapter analyzed the properties of intangible cultural heritage to demonstrate that it can be protected as intellectual property. Then it analyzed the conflict with the current intellectual property legal system, involving the conflict with copyright, patent and trademark. Intellectual property protection mode in the worldwide are compared and analyzed in detail. On this basis Protection mode that can be taken in this stage of china was analyzed.The third chapter: intellectual property system construction for protecting the intangible cultural heritage. The system was constructed from four parts: subject, copyright protection, patent right protection, trademark right protection.The paper pointed that the intangible cultural heritage can be protected by private law, especially the intellectual property law. It is an important part which cannot be ignored in the system of protection. However, the intangible cultural heritage is the source of modern innovation. It can cause monopoly to knowledge if we gave too much rights to subject. Therefore, the balance between public interest and private interest should be stressed.