Palavras-chave direito; comunidades; tradicional; igualdade.

This article deals with the need for recognition of the identity of culturally diverse groups, the so-called traditional or local communities in Brazil. It defines traditional-local communities, their relation with the environment and the need for protecting their knowledge, to obtain understanding of the past and guarantee of the future. It also emphasizes the matter of emancipation and the imperative of guaranteeing equality (in difference) to achieve citizenship in times of change and uncertainty with respect to protection of their cultural and ecologica patrimony. It thus seeks to demonstrate the paradox between the right of the author or copyright and the reality of local communities and their sites in search of symbolic defense of the local universe of their culture in face of the globalization process