| Ayurveda is the traditional system of medicine | | | | etc. |
| and medication, based on experience and | | | | However, the problem of biopiracy may not be |
| observation. India has a rich heritage of indigenous | | | | resolved with patent revocation and domestic |
| knowlege and practices of healing and care. Two | | | | biodiversty legislation alone. There is a need to |
| thirds of our population even today is directly | | | | provide legal and institutional means for recognizing |
| dependent on the biological resources and the | | | | the rights of the indigenous communities on their |
| indigenous knowledge. Almost every Indian family | | | | traditional knowledge based on biological resources |
| knows instant home remedies for various | | | | at the international level. It is important that the |
| ailments: milk with a pinch of turmeric for cold, | | | | ownership of traditional knowledge be rejected. |
| dry ginger for stomach ailments, cloves for | | | | Such resources should remain accessible to all |
| toothaches, the list can go on and on. | | | | people. They are not commodities to be exploited |
| Unfortunately, these days we often hear how | | | | by the corporate sector. Patenting indigenous |
| knowledge used for centuries by indigenous | | | | knowlege cannot be acceptable since it is a theft |
| communities is being patented by corporations. | | | | from generations past, present and future. |
| Overtime, such patents can be used to create | | | | One thing that is evident is that India has woken |
| monopolies and make everyday products highly | | | | up to the task of protecting her traditional |
| priced. The grant of patents on traditional | | | | knowledge from biopiracy. As a result, the past |
| medicines, which is either based on what is | | | | decade has witnessed an increasing growth in |
| already a part of the traditional knowledge of the | | | | demands and applications for the protection of |
| developing world, or a minor variation thereof, has | | | | traditional and indigenous knowlege systems from |
| been causing a great concern. The patents | | | | profit hungry commercial interests.In India until |
| granted for instance on wound healing properties | | | | now, information from traditional texts had not |
| of turmeric or a fungicide from neem are some | | | | been translated and put in public domain. Now full |
| of such examples of blatant biopiracy of Indian | | | | scale efforts have started with the electronic |
| traditional knowledge. Nevertheless, the patents | | | | encyclopedia and people cannot claim Indian |
| on turmeric, neem has been successfully | | | | traditional knowledge as their own and get it |
| overturned and this is the first step in stopping | | | | patented. |
| biopiracy which has opened up opportunities and | | | | To sum up, it is imperative to ammend the |
| given us confidence that this exercise could be | | | | current patent system in order to provide a fair |
| extended to other such patents on amla, pepper, | | | | and honest global intellectual property rights that |
| bitter gourd, jamun, brinjal, garlic, ashwagandha | | | | would halt biopiracy, which is sweeping the globe. |