UNA Europa Material Presentation:

Workshop Theme 1

TURMERIC AND NEEM:

THE 2 CASES OF BIOPIRACY JUSTIFYING THE
EXISTENCE OF THE INDIAN TRADITIONAL
KNOWLEDGE DIGITAL LIBRARY
Diana Maria Lica – PhD in Law at KU Leuven

Turmeric (showed on the right picture) and Neem (on the left picture) are considered
to have miraculous properties and are holy in India. While the rhizomes of Turmeric
have been used for centuries as a dye, as a spice in Indian dishes and as a cure to
wounds are rashes, Neem extracts have been long known for their antifungal
properties and for providing relief from cold, flu and even skin diseases. The reason
why these plants are showcased as materials in the context of my presentation is
that both of them have been the subject matter of biopiracy back in the 90s and
justify the existence of the Indian Traditional Knowledge Digital Library as a tool to
protect them from foreign ”predatory-like behaviour”.

The biopiracy attempts refer to the filing of a patent application with the US
Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) on the use of Turmeric in wound healing and
the grant of a patent by the European Patent Office (EPO) for a method for
controlling fungi on plants by the aid of hydrophobic extracted Neem oil. This is how
both Turmeric and Neem became “contested objects” in two landmark patent case
before the USPTO and the EPO in which India acted as claimant.

In the light of the evidence provided by India that both practices formed part of its
extensive body of traditional knowledge, both patents were revoked on the grounds
of existing of prior art (one of the conditions to be granted a patent is the absolute
novelty of the invention). India’s success in these proceedings, based on the fact
that the properties of Turmeric and Neem were not newly discovered by the
applicants but formed part of its traditional knowledge, was described as a matter
of “national pride”. So as to avoid long-lasting and onerous revocation or limitation
procedures as the ones described above, the Indian government adopted a proactive
stance through the creation of India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL).