Bio-piracy? ...and patenting more than just Yoga (Ayurveda)

I'm not sure what to think of the following three stories... they appear to be reporting concern in India of "unscrupulous" foriegn businesses taking patents on Ayurvedic techniques. The answer? Patenting your products before the bio-pirates get them!

• "Plea to take up Ayurveda patent issue" By Our Staff Reporter in The Hindu
• "Call to protect intellectual property rights" By Our Staff Reporter in The Hindu
• "Patenting only protection against bio-piracy, say experts" By Our Staff Correspondent in The Hindu

Here's a great excerpt from the last article:

In his presentation, Dr. Madhyastha noted that India was a treasure trove of traditional wisdom and indigenous knowledge. But owing to "indifference" and "ignorance," many knowledge systems had disappeared.

He said the indifference towards patenting traditional knowledge had left open the field to discerning entrepreneurs from other countries. After the Indian economy had been liberalised, at least 20 medicinal plants and agricultural products of the country had been patented by developed countries, which was a glaring instance of bio-piracy, he said. [emphasis added]

Posted by joebeone at Marzo 28, 2004 09:37 AM | TrackBack