Traditional Knowledge Laws: Seychelles

Subject Matter of Protection

Article 3 - Interpretation

"folklore" means all ancient literary, artistic or musical works created in Seychelles, passed from generation to generation and constituting a basic element of the cultural heritage of Seychelles.

"performers" means singers, musicians, and other persons who sing, deliver, declaim, play in, or otherwise perform literary and artistic works or traditional cultural expressions or expressions of folklore;

"traditional cultural expressions" or "expressions of folklore" means any forms, whether tangible or intangible, in which traditional culture and knowledge are expressed, appear or are manifested, and comprise the following forms of expressions or combinations thereof -
   (i) verbal expressions, such as stories, epics, legends, poetry, riddles and other narratives; words, signs, names, and symbols;
   (ii) musical expressions, such as songs and instrumental music;
   (iii) expressions by action, such as dances, plays, ceremonies, rituals and other performances, whether or not reduced to a   material form; or
   (iv) tangible expressions, such as productions of art, in particular, drawings, designs, paintings (including body-painting), carvings, sculpt11res, pottery, terracotta, mosaic, woodwork, metalware, jewelry, baskets, needlework, textiles, glassware, carpets, costumes, handicrafts, musical instruments, and architectural forms, which are -

(a) the products of creative intellectual activity, including individual and communal creativity;
(b) characteristic of a community's cultural and social identity and cultural heritage; or
(c) maintained, used or developed by such community, or by individuals having the right or responsibility to do so in accordance with the customary law and practices of that community.

Scope of Protection

Article 5 - Derivative works

(1) The following shall also be protected as works-

(a) translations, adaptations, arrangements and other transformations or modifications of works or traditional cultmal expressions or expressions of folklore; and
(b) collections of works, collections of data (databases), whether in machine readable or other form, and collections of traditional cultural expressions or expressions of folklore, provided that such collections are original by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents.

(2) The protection of a work referred to in subsection (1) shall be without prejudice to the protection of a pre-existing work or traditional cultural expression or expression of folklore incorporated in or utilised for the making of such work.