Imagine that one day you are sitting in your courtyard and pounding or grinding ginger, black pepper, cloves, a small piece of cinnamon and some basil leaves on a mortar… suddenly a foreign guest arrives there. Come and while talking to you, know that you are going to grind all these, boil them with water and prepare a decoction which will cure any kind of cold, cough or fever of a person.
Then after some time, you come to know through newspapers or news channels that the foreigner to whom you had unknowingly given information about your medicinal concoction, made a medicine on the same basis with the help of modern science and then got it patented.
It is obvious that you will feel cheated. This had been happening for decades with most Indians and their medical systems. However, this will not happen now. An international treaty has now become almost certain in the United Nations to stop such things. In the coming time, the world will know this treaty as Biopiracy Law or Biopiracy Agreement.
You must remember the turmeric incident
Actually, 1994 In 2017, two researchers from Mississippi University, Suman Das and Harihar Kohli, were granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for the antiseptic properties of turmeric. When this became known in India, there was a lot of controversy over it. People said that Halki, which we have been using as a medicine for centuries, is also mentioned in Indian Ayurveda. Then how can America give its patent to anyone?
When the controversy over this increased, India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) filed a case on it and in 1997, the PTO The patents of both the researchers were cancelled. Now, to solve similar issues and to prevent theft of anyone’s traditional knowledge or medical practice, there is talk of bringing a biopiracy law or agreement at the international level.
What is biopiracy?
According to a report by German news website DW, biopiracy is the use of knowledge without consent, which is passed down from generation to generation. Is. You can also connect it with the knowledge and use of medicinal properties of any plant or crop or the use of any animal species. Efforts are being made to make such rules through biopiracy agreements or laws so that no one can patent any discovery based on such knowledge without the consent of that community. When it comes to the plant, let us tell you that in the year 1995, a chemical company WR Grace had obtained several patents regarding the properties of Neem. Whereas in India, many medicinal properties of Neem have been used for centuries. Later on this basis, after a struggle that lasted for almost ten years, the European Patent Office had rejected all the patents registered on Neem on the basis of biopiracy.
May 13 to 24 is special
13 to 24 May is special
strong>
For all those people including Indians who have their own centuries-old medical system, good news is going to come regarding biopiracy by 24th May. Actually, a diplomatic conference is being organized in Geneva between May 13 and May 24. The goal of this event will be to create international laws to protect traditional knowledge from being plundered or to create an international agreement that can bring more transparency in the patent system. Also read: You must have heard about cold store a lot, know why fruits and vegetables do not spoil in it.
Source link
