Protecting and sharing biodiversity and traditional knowledge: Holder and user tools

The present paper deals with the question how legal protection of biodiversity and traditional knowledge can be accommodated and how the results from the use and exploitation of biodiversity and traditional knowledge can be shared. The aim is to cast the various contributions in this volume in a wider framework, by describing and evaluating current intellectual property (IP) protection systems, intellectual property-similar regimes and protection and sharing initiatives outside intellectual property.