European Patent Office Rejects Neem Tree Patent.
Position | Brief Article |
Greens Victory in Anti-BioPiracy Patent Case
Brussels, May 10, 2000
The European Patent Office in Munich today upheld objections from the Green Group in the European Parliament to a patent granted in 1994 to the transnational W.R. Grace company and the US Department of Agriculture for a claimed invention of the fungicidal properties of the Indian Neem tree.
The Examining Division held that the technique used was well-known to local farmers, lacked any inventive step and that such indigenous knowledge could therefore not be patented.
The case was brought in the name of Magda Aelvoet, at that time President of the Greens in the Parliament and now the Belgian Environment Minister, together with the Indian Research Foundation led by Vandana Shiva and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
The Neem tree has been used for centuries by Indians for its medicinal insecticidal and contraceptive properties and is known locally as the "free tree." It is also venerated in the culture, religions, and literature of the region.
Green MEP Hiltrud Breyer (Germany) said "This action was brought to illustrate how the patent...
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