indigenous community, and the _mola_ is a traditional dress that has proved popular with tourists.

Ms. Fowler reports on efforts by government agencies, NGOs, and artisans’ groups in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela to develop national registries of crafts and to advance the use of marks of authenticity.

# **Bobbo Ahiagble in Ghana**

Ghanaian law provides for the registration of certain textile designs and hence their protection through standard IP mechanisms. _Kente,_ however, and several other wellknown designs of a particularly communal nature cannot be registered. There was no legal recourse then for the Ghanaian _Kente_ artist, Gilbert “Bobbo” Ahiagble when J.C. Penney reproduced his designs on bed sheets and marketed them to the American public.

Louise Meyer, who founded Africancrafts, a nonprofit organization to help preserve the tradition of _Kente_ cloth weaving, has closely followed Bobbo’s career. According to her, Bobbo worried years back about copies, but as he realized that his weavings are of higher artistry and technical quality, he concluded that his identity is his protection against copies. He uses unique labels to distinguish his creations and his status is such that all of his weavings are produced and sold to special order. Any buyer in the secondary market can consult his records on questions of authenticity.

In her conclusions, Ms. Fowler points to the importance of combined efforts of networks of indigenous populations to bring the counterfeiting problem to the forefront. Networks and associations have proved to be effective tools for pooling resources for lobbying, awareness training, and enforcement. She notes that artisans need training on IP tools and how to use them. The cost of using these tools, however, is high relative to the incomes of artisans, and unless such tools are provided on a pro bono basis, they are not likely to be attainable.

Kerry ten Kate and Sarah A Laird (2004) _: Bioprospecting Agreements and Benefit Sharing with Local Communities_ Global sales of pharmaceuticals derived from genetic resources exceed US$75 billion a year. Add in other health care products, agriculture, horticulture, and biotechnology products and the total comes to more than US$500 billion a year. Many of these products link back to knowledge that traditional communities possess on how to use natural materials as medicines, foods, and preservatives, yet these communities have received minimal revenues from such sales.

The past quarter century has witnessed considerable political action to help traditional communities obtain a better deal from the commercial application of their knowledge and of genetic material found in the areas they occupy. (The following is an example to explain the meaning of traditional knowledge and genetic material: the San bushmen of the African Kalahari have long used the Hoodia plant to stave off hunger and thirst on hunting trips. The Hoodia plant is genetic material; to use it and how to use it are traditional knowledge.) The movement has brought forward three basic principles on commercial access to genetic materials and traditional knowledge: prior informed consent, mutually agreed terms, and benefit sharing. The principles have found expression in a number of political outputs, ranging from international agreements such as the Convention on Biological 15