**1. Introduction**

Intellectual property rights include patents, trademarks, trade secrets, geographical indications and copyrights. IPR is a legal tool to protect industrial innovation in the modern world as well as to promote the protection of biodiversity and to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources among indigenous custodians [1, 2]. Most of the patented inventions are based on previous knowledge. One of the advantages of the patent system is that it promotes further inventions on a country-by-country basis using knowledge publicly [3]. Many of the herbal products derived from traditional medicine is protected by patent laws.

Phytoconstituents have many facets in intellectual property rights (IPR) in respect of copyrights, patents, and trademark for their medicinal preparations, and registered designs [4]. The most popular forms of IP protection for herbal medicines are trade secrets and trademarks [5].

However, patenting of plant derived medicinal products and processes on the basis of knowledge gained through tradition have become a major dispute in the intellectual property rights domain [6]. Intellectual property rights in connection with indigenous knowledge have given rise to many complex legal challenges to the present world. Issues concerning the preservation of indigenous knowledge are not only legal in nature. Furthermore, the problems encountered in traditional knowledge systems due to intellectual property law can be experienced directly in communities throughout world [7].

Recently activists and some specific non-governmental organizations (NGOs) uses the term Biopiracy' to refer traditional knowledge related illegal or improper use of biological materials [8]. Furthermore, the growing number of patents also represents more exploration about biopiracy. Neem tree cases from India have shown that patents play a central role in biopiracy activity. While there has been much international discussion on disputes pertinent to intellectual property and assets, traditional knowledge and heritage, these international consultants are skeptical about the overuse of biopiracy to describe specific instances of unfair or false intellectual property claims over biological resources and traditional knowledge. Bioprospecting is a recent term constituted to describe the appropriate use of natural resources, respect the rights of indigenous peoples, and identify, commercialize bio products [3, 8–10].

However, while we protect these leading compounds and obtain private rights under the existing patent law system, the rights and interests (such as disclosure of origins, profit sharing, etc.) of the traditional knowledge owners who provide the "source" of these patents must also be respected. Otherwise, it is against the basic principles and concepts of the intellectual property system such as the interest balance [11, 12]. The Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is a key international agreement promoting the harmonization of IPR regime [13]. Key agencies like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has also been instrumental in establishing new frameworks for the protection of Indigenous interests under intellectual property. Moreover countries at national and regional level are primarily concerned about protecting traditional resources [14]. In this regard the present chapter provides an overview of the different types of intellectual property rights and execution of legal protection of traditional resources in India. The chapter also discussed the concepts like traditional knowledge, biopiracy and bioprospecting.
