Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The BBNJ includes articles that affirm the role of Indigenous Peoples and their traditional knowledge in the governance of oceans. The relationship between traditional knowledge and intellectual property rules has been a topic of international negotiations and remains somewhat fractured and complex, yet also ongoing. The debate includes the relationship of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol with the international intellectual property regime. These agreements and now also the BBNJ remain institutionally and legally distinct from intellectual property rules at the WTO and WIPO. Both the CBD and Nagoya are qualified with commitments that are “subject to national law”. This contrasts to the BBNJ which is about matters beyond national jurisdiction. In this chapter, the tangled relationship between international intellectual property and traditional knowledge, including relevant provisions of the BBNJ, are discussed with use of examples from those who inhabit the islands of the Pacific Ocean.</jats:p>