‘Patent’ is a set of exclusive rights, that is usually granted based on following the right procedures elucidated through the patent law in India. The patent is granted to an inventor or his assignee, for a fixed period of time in exchange of public disclosure of an invention or discovery. The invention must be something new and original, such as a manufacturing process, machine or product. Based on patent law in India, the invention must be novel, unique and have industrial application.
Patent Law in India: Chinese Bid to Patent Pudina Curbed by India
India foiled a major bio-piracy bid of a Chinese Pharmaceutical Company, Livzon. The company had applied for the patent, to the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2007. The application claimed the discovery of medical properties of plants ‘pudina’ (mint) and ‘kalamegha’ (andrographis), for curing H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu). However, the claim was foiled with the help of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL). These organizations were established to protect India’s ancient knowledge, supported by the patent law in India.
Dr V. K. Gupta, the director of the TKDL, sent a letter to the EPO, intimating to the analysts that the medical uses of pudina and kalamegha were originally discovered in India. It also stated that the Chinese claim for mint patent was not based on a novel discovery.
Also, a primeval formula from ancient ayurvedic and unani texts, such as ‘Cakradattah’, ‘Bhaisajya Ratnavali, which indicated the medical uses of the plants, was found by the CSIR and the TKDL. This formulation was sent as evidence to the EPO.
On receipt of the letter and this evidence, the EPO cancelled its decision to grant patent to Livzon.
