-------- Original Message --------
Subject: India wins landmark patent battle
Date: 9 Mar 2005 12:13:26 -0600
From: "Mark Graffis" <mgraffis@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
NEWS | Science/Nature | India wins landmark patent battle
India has won a 10-year long battle at the European Patent Office (EPO)
against a patent granted on an anti- fungal product, derived from neem.
EPO initially granted the patent to the US Department of Agriculture and
multinational WR Grace in 1995.
But the Indian government successfully argued that the medicinal neem
tree
is part of traditional Indian knowledge.
The winning challenge comes after years of campaigning and legal
challenges
against so-called "bio-piracy".
Leading the campaign in the neem case was the EU Parliament's Green
Party,
India-based Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology
(RFSTE)
and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM).
This historic precedent must be further developed
Linda Bullard, IFOAM
"Denying the patent means upholding the value of traditional for
millions of
[people] not only in India but throughout the South. The free tree will
stay
free," said RFSTE director Dr Vandana ****va.
"This victory is the result of extremely long solidarity. It is a
victory of
committed citizens over commercial interests and big powers."
Ancient knowledge
A challenge was first mounted against the patent when it was granted in
1995. In 2000 it was victorious, but the US multinational mounted an
appeal.
On Tuesday this week that appeal was lost.
The backbone of RFSTE's challenge was that the fungicide qualities of
the
neem tree and its use has been known in India for over 2000 years.
The neem derivatives have also been used traditionally to make insect
repellents, soaps, cosmetics, tooth cleaners and contraceptives.
In 1995, WR Grace patented neem-based bio pesticides, including Neemix,
for
use on food crops. Neemix suppresses insect feeding behaviour and growth
in
more than 200 species of insects.
But the EPO agreed that the patent amounted to bio-piracy and that the
process for which the patent had been granted had actually been in use
in
India for many years.
Under normal cir***stances, a patent application should always be
rejected
if there is prior existing knowledge about the product.
But in the United States, "prior existing knowledge" is only recognised
if
it is published in a journal - not if it has been passed down through
generations of oral and folk traditions.
"We are deeply gratified that through our case the EPO has recognised
the
intellectual achievements of the South," said Linda Bullard, former
president of IFOAM.
"We were able to establish that traditional knowledge systems can be a
means
of establi****ng 'prior art' and thus used to destroy claims of novelty
and
inventiveness.
"This historic precedent must be further developed and transposed into
overall international frameworks so that this type of theft is no longer
possible."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4333627.stm
Published: 2005/03/09 16:04:07 GMT
) BBC MMV
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