BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, December 13, 2017 (Times of India): The government on Wednesday moved in to check patenting of products using genetic resources such as neem, haldi, aamla or even bhaang, as well as illegal rights over traditional knowledge such as yoga and ayurveda. India circulated a paper at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ministerial meeting to make it mandatory for anyone seeking to patent a product or process that uses genetic resources and traditional knowledge, an issue on which there has been discussed in the past but has not moved due to opposition from the US, Australia and Japan. Several other countries such Mexico, which have a rich heritage, have argued for checks on patenting of traditional knowledge and genetic resources.
“We have suggested a work program on this as 106 countries had agreed to this earlier,” said a government official. The move comes at a time when countries led by the European Union are seeking to enhance discussions on having a global framework on e-commerce and India is looking to link the talks at WTO with its demand for protection of its traditional knowledge. In recent years, there have been several instances of products such as neem being patented, resulting in expensive legal battles which have been long drawn. While yoga per se cannot be patented, there have been attempts to patent asanas or their variations. In 2005, it was estimated that over 2,000 wrong patents involving Indian systems of medicine had been granted, resulting in the establishment of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.