India to protect traditional knowledge

Abstract

The European Patent Office (EPO) withdrew a controversial patent previously granted to the US Dept of Agriculture and the biobusiness corporation W.R. Grace (Columbia, MD, USA) on the use of antifungal agents extracted from the neem (Azadirachta indica) tree. A. indica is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, where it has been used in agriculture, medicine and cosmetics for centuries. The EPO has received 51 patent applications for ‘inventions’ based on the neem tree, and has so far granted 11. Approximately 90 patents exploiting the tree have been granted worldwide. India has announced plans to create a digital database of its traditional knowledge. This will be included in the patent classification system of the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization as a solution to prevent patents from being issued for non-original inventions in India’s traditional system.