Intellectual Properties, Colonial Encounters, and Legal Harmonization in The Gambia
Duration:
February 2017–November 2018
Funding source:
BEL Faculty New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
This project explores historical precedents to intellectual property (IP) protection in crop varieties through an analysis of colonial seed law in The Gambia. Attention to historical interventions into farmer seed management informs contemporary questions about intellectual property harmonization required under the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS). In particular, by tracing the dilemmas that arose when state interpretations of local practice were drafted into colonial law, this project contributes to contemporary discussions about the translation and accommodation of customary practice within sui generis IP legislation.