BIOPIRACY AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS: LEGAL CHALLENGES AND REMEDIES UNDER INTERNATIONAL AND MALAYSIAN LAW

Abstract

Biopiracy represents one of the most pressing contemporary challenges at the intersection of intellectual property law, indigenous rights, and biodiversity conservation. It occurs when corporations or research institutions from technologically advanced nations appropriate genetic resources and traditional knowledge from developing countries without prior informed consent or equitable benefit-sharing. This article argues that biopiracy constitutes a modern extension of colonial exploitation—reproduced through international intellectual property systems such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the uneven enforcement of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol. Using doctrinal analysis, this study examines how international and domestic legal instruments govern access to biological resources, evaluates the limitations of current frameworks, and proposes legal reforms to better protect Indigenous custodians of traditional knowledge. Malaysia’s Access to Biological Resources and Benefit Sharing Act 2017 and the National Policy on Biological Diversity 2016–2025 are discussed as regional exemplars within the ASEAN context. The article concludes that meaningful protection of Indigenous rights requires harmonisation between intellectual property regimes and biodiversity conservation laws, greater community participation in benefit-sharing arrangements, and the creation of mechanisms—such as a Global Bio-Collecting Society—to ensure that innovation does not perpetuate biocolonial exploitation.