The Hindu Business Line : WIPO meet: India to stress on keeping bio-piracy at bay

What IP experts say
With India recognising product patents, the law should prevent the misuse of documented and undocumented forms of traditional knowledge

Mumbai , April 25

It may not be as brazen as an expatriate Indian's attempt to copyright more than 30 yoga asanas. Nor is it high profile like the patent onslaughts on turmeric's healing abilities or neem's medicinal properties.

But how does one block the "misappropriation" of traditional knowledge at a more subtle level, especially where the information is oral or not documented?

A case in point is the use of `keezha nelli' (Phyllanthus amarus) to treat jaundice, says an expert on intellectual property (IP). The plant is locally available in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and its use to treat jaundice is common place, observes the IP expert, who deliberated similar issues at a recent meeting organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) at Kochi earlier this month.

And then again, if companies or people have gained commercially from traditional knowledge, are they not obliged to share the benefits with stakeholders, he points out.

Keeping bio-piracy at bay by protecting traditional knowledge or popular folklore and sharing its benefits with stake-holders are issues that will be reiterated by an Indian delegation participating in a WIPO meeting on the issue starting in Geneva on Monday (April 24).

Representatives from different ministries, including Education, Science and Technology and Commerce, are participating in The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore: Ninth Session, held under the aegis of the WIPO.

The challenge is not only in tightening Indian laws to prevent misappropriation of traditional knowledge but to ultimately get other countries also to be part of an international treaty that binds them on similar lines. This way, traditional knowledge gets protected, whether it is Chinese medicine or popular African folklore, another IP expert said.

With India recognising product patents, the law should prevent the misuse of documented and undocumented forms of traditional knowledge. Prior informed consent needs to be taken from stakeholders of the traditional knowledge if it was being used for commercial purposes and the benefits should be shared with these communities who have used the knowledge for generations, he added.

Between the Patents (Amendment) Act 2005 and the Bio-diversity Act, India has taken steps to prevent the misuse of traditional knowledge, said a Government official who is participating in this week's WIPO meet.

The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library further lists out details on Indian medicine in languages such as Japanese, German, French and Spanish, besides English.

This keeps Patent offices across the world informed, so it can keep at bay brazen attempts to patent traditional Indian medicine, the official added.