Four cases are described. Decide in each one whether it is biopiracy, and give your reason…
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Four cases are described. Decide in each one whether it is biopiracy, and give your reason.
(1) A company in another country patents a process based on a plant that villagers have used for generations. It has no permission and pays nothing.
(2) A company asks a country for permission to collect a plant, gets it, and pays a share of the income.
(3) A foreign company sells rice that it has bred from the varieties of Indian farmers, with no permission and no payment, under a patent.
(4) A national research institute studies a local plant and publishes the results.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
The worked solution
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Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Case (1). It is biopiracy. A company uses a bio-resource and traditional knowledge without authorisation and without payment.
Step 2. Case (2). It is not. There is authorisation and a share of the benefit.
Step 3. Case (3). It is biopiracy. It is like the basmati case: a variety derived from the varieties of farmers, without permission and without payment.
Step 4. Case (4). It is not. The institute belongs to the country, and the work is public.
Answer: (1) yes; (2) no; (3) yes; (4) no.
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