The Legal Protection Of The Intangible Cultural Heritage

The legal protection of the intangible cultural heritage is complex system. Only one law can not fully protect the intangible cultural heritage. For example, the public law can not protect the conduct that one firm uses the folklore from a nation to make a film . In the world, countries tend to use a complex system of laws to protect the intangible cultural heritage, For example, using the public laws to protect the relationship between the countries and using the private laws to protect the relationship between people about the intangible cultural heritage.Because of the deep relationship between the intangible cultural heritage and the objectives in the existing intellectual property system, the intellectual property law becomes the hot topic in the legal protection of the intangible cultural heritage. As the "defender" of the knowledge, the intellectual property law has important functions and special values in the legal protection of the intangible cultural heritage. The intellectual property protection of the intangible cultural heritage has became one important research.In this paper, the author wants to debate the protection of the private laws (the intellectual property law ) for the intangible cultural heritage. Besides, this paper emphsizes some commom matters in the protection of the intangible cultural heritage like the choosen of legislation modes, the establishment of the new benefit balance system, the subjects and the objects of the intangible cultural heritage and how to obtain and use the right of the intangible cultural heritage. These are the common questions in the intellectual property protection of the intangible cultural heritage. This paper does not emphsize the specific questions of the concret intangible cultural heritage like the folklore or the traditional knowledge.In the first chapter ,first, the paper introduces the finition and the kinds of the intangible cultural heritage. The author holds that the intangible cultural heritage consists of the intangible intellectual product and the tangible products which closely relate to the intangible cultural heritage. So not all the intangible cultural heritage can be protected by the intellectual property system. Second , the paper introduces the featuers of the intangible cultural heritage. Last , the paper defines what kinds of intangible cultural heritage can be protected by intellectual property system. The author believes that folklore, traditional knowledge and traditional marks can be protected by intellectual property system. The traditional living modes, the biology resouces related to the traditional knowledge and the tangible matrials which express the folklore or traditional knowledge can not be protected by intellectual property system.In the second chaper, the paper analyzed the the legitimacy of intellectual property protection for intangible cultural heritage from two aspects—theory and practice. First,the traits of intangible cultural heritage make it qualifying for the intellectual protection . Second , intellectual property system is open to new intellectual products . Some developing countries have tried to establish some treaties to protect intangible cultural heritage. In recent years some international organization like International Intellectual Property Organiztion have been actively working on the issue. These work provide relvarances for the legal protection of intangible cultural heritage.In the third chapter the author analysised the mode that the intellectual protection of intangible cultural heritage should take. The author believes that the exsisting intellectual property law works for modern knowledge and for the developed countries, so it is unfit for intangible cultural heritage. If revising the exsisting intellectual property law to fit the protection of intangible cultural heritage it will destroy the purpose of the exsisting intellectual property system. It is better to establish new intellectual property laws for intangible cultural heritage.In the fourth chapter the author tried to bring forward some ideas for the rules in new intellectual property laws for intangible cultural heritage. This chapter emphsizes some commom matters in the protection of the intangible cultural heritage like the choosen of legislation modes, the establishment of the new benefit balance system, the subjects and the objects of the intangible cultural heritage and how to obtain and use the right of the intangible cultural heritage. These are the common questions in the intellectual property protection of the intangible cultural heritage. This chapter does not emphsize the specific questions of the concret intangible cultural heritage like the folklore or the traditional knowledge.The author hopes that these ideas can help to solve some proplems in the intellectual protection of intangible cultural heritage.