The phrase "" is often used to describe two landmark cases in the global debate around biopiracy, traditional knowledge, and intellectual property rights (IPR). It reflects India's differing experiences with protecting its ancient knowledge and biodiversity from being patented by foreign entities. Here's a breakdown:
🌿 1. The Neem Case – "India lost Neem"
- Background: Neem (Azadirachta indica), a tree native to India, has been used for centuries in Indian agriculture, medicine, and daily life for its anti-fungal, antibacterial, and insect-repellent properties.
- The Patent: In the 1990s, the European Patent Office (EPO) granted a patent to W.R. Grace (a US company) and the US Department of Agriculture for a method of extracting neem oil to use as a pesticide.
- The Problem: This knowledge was already part of traditional Indian practices. The patent was seen as biopiracy — the exploitation of traditional knowledge without proper acknowledgment or compensation.
- The Outcome: Although India eventually got the patent revoked in 2000, it took a long legal battle, significant resources, and the burden of proof fell on India to show prior art. The damage was partly done, and India had to fight from a position of disadvantage, having lacked documentation of its traditional knowledge in a globally recognized form.
🧡 2. The Turmeric Case – "India won Haldi"
- Background: Turmeric (Haldi) has been used in Indian households for thousands of years, especially for wound healing, cooking, and religious purposes.
- The Patent: In 1995, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a patent to researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the use of turmeric in wound healing.
- The Problem: Again, this was not a novel idea but something widely known in Indian culture.
- The Outcome: The Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) challenged the patent by providing documented evidence from ancient Sanskrit texts and modern scientific literature. The USPTO revoked the patent in 1997 — this time, faster and more efficiently than in the Neem case.
📚 Why the Difference?
- Documentation: India had learned from the Neem case. For the Haldi case, India was better prepared with documentation and evidence of traditional use.
- Creation of TKDL: After these experiences, India developed the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) — a searchable database of traditional Indian medicinal knowledge, available to patent examiners globally to prevent future biopiracy.
- Legal & Diplomatic Push: The Haldi case marked a shift where India began proactively engaging with international patent systems and emphasizing the protection of traditional knowledge as intellectual property.
🧠 Summary:
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Case
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Patent Granted
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Challenge
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Outcome
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Lesson
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Neem
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Yes (Europe)
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Took years, patent revoked
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"Lost" due to lengthy battle and lack of prep
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Need for proactive defense
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Haldi (Turmeric)
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Yes (US)
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Quickly challenged by CSIR
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Patent revoked in 2 years
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Importance of documentation
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