Biopiracy, patents and traditional knowledge

Whose rice is it?

Rice is one of the most important food crops. India alone has thousands of varieties of it. They were bred and kept by farmers over many generations. One of these is basmati, which is prized for its aroma.

Now think of a company in another country that takes a few of these varieties, crosses them, and says: this is my invention. Who owns the new rice? This question is at the centre of this lesson.

Patents

A patent is a right that a government gives for an invention. The holder can stop other people from making, using or selling the invention without permission, for a period of time. (The usual period under the rules of the World Trade Organization is 20 years.)

NCERT notes that the use of living organisms for public services, as sources of food and medicine, has created problems with patents. There is growing public anger about this. Certain companies are being granted patents for products and technologies that use genetic materials, plants and other biological resources. These resources have long been identified, developed and used by farmers and indigenous people of a region or country.

This part is not in NCERT, but A-Level and IB use it. A patent office grants a patent if the claim is new, shows an inventive step, and can be used in industry. A use that has been known to people for generations is not new.

Biopiracy

NCERT gives a name to the worst case. Biopiracy is the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and the people concerned, and without compensatory payment.

Why does it happen?

• Most of the industrialised nations are rich financially, but poor in biodiversity and in traditional knowledge.
• The developing and underdeveloped world is rich in biodiversity and in traditional knowledge related to bio-resources.
• This traditional knowledge can be used to develop modern applications. It also saves time, effort and money when a product is brought to the market.

People have realised that this is unjust, and that there is no fair sharing of benefit between developed and developing countries. Some nations are therefore making laws to prevent the unauthorised use of their bio-resources and traditional knowledge. NCERT mentions that the Indian Parliament cleared the second amendment of the Indian Patents Bill.

The examples

• Basmati. In 1997, an American company obtained patent rights on basmati rice from the US Patent and Trademark Office. This allowed it to sell a new variety of basmati, in the US and abroad. The new variety had actually been derived from the varieties of Indian farmers. Indian basmati was crossed with semi-dwarf varieties, and the result was claimed as an invention. The patent also extended to functional equivalents, which means that other people who sell basmati could be restricted by it.
• Neem and turmeric. Several attempts have been made to patent uses, products and processes that are based on the properties of plants such as neem and turmeric. Farmers had used them for generations.

This part is not in NCERT, but it is recorded in public documents. Both patents were challenged. The patent on the use of turmeric for healing wounds was cancelled in 1997 after a challenge from India. The European Patent Office revoked a patent on a neem product in 2000, and confirmed this in 2005 after an appeal. The challenge worked because the use was already known, so it was not new.

Try it in Python

The program tests whether a claim can be patented and whether a use is biopiracy.

The second program shares the income of a product between a company and a community.

Practise with new numbers

Common mistakes

• Saying that all patents are biopiracy. Biopiracy is the use without proper authorisation and without a compensatory payment.
• Thinking that the basmati patent was on rice in general. It was on a variety that the company called new, but it was derived from the varieties of Indian farmers.
• Mixing up the rich and the poor. Industrialised nations are rich financially. Developing nations are rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge.
• Saying that traditional knowledge has no value for companies. It saves time, effort and money.

Remember these

• Biopiracy: use of bio-resources by companies without proper authorisation and without compensatory payment.
• Developing countries are rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge. Industrialised nations are rich financially.
• Basmati: a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office in 1997, for a variety derived from the varieties of Indian farmers.
• Neem and turmeric: attempts to patent uses, products and processes based on them.

Check yourself

Try each one on your own first. If you are stuck, open a hint. Then check with Show the answer.

1. Define biopiracy.

2. Which kind of country is rich in traditional knowledge about bio-resources?

3. What happened with basmati rice in 1997?

4. Name two plants of which the uses, products or processes were claimed in patents.

5. What is the difference between a fair use and biopiracy of a bio-resource?

References

• OpenStax Biology 2e, chapter 17, Biotechnology and Genomics, section 17.1 Biotechnology.
• NCERT (2023). Biology, Textbook for Class XII, chapter 10, Biotechnology and Its Applications.
• World Trade Organization, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Article 33 (the term of a patent).