Multinational companies will now find it very difficult to patent products made by using Indian traditional knowledge of science. The Indian government has digitized all traditional knowledge of medicine available in India and has shared it with the US President and United States patents office so that nobody benefits unduly by using Indian knowledge and files for patents on such products. "We call it traditional knowledge in a digital library," said Minister...
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Can’t use RTI to question judge’s verdict: SC by Krishnadas Rajagopal
The Supreme Court on Monday said the Right to Information Act would not be used to question the intention of a judge for giving a particular verdict. A judge need not furnish reasons under the RTI on why he chose to give this verdict and not another, noted a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan. “He (a judge) cannot go on explaining his judgments. The...
More »Piracy of old Indian knowledge rising by Rashme Sehgal
Biopiracy in the field of medicine is on the rise with Europe and the US being granted 2,000 patents every year for drugs based on Indian traditional systems of medicine. These patents are being granted by the US patent and Trademark Office (USPTP), the European patent Office (EPO) and other overseas patent offices. This startling claim was made by forests and environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday. It is to reverse...
More »India set to lead effort for binding biodiversity treaty by Aarti Dhar
Even before the dust has settled on the controversial Copenhagen climate deal, India is set to take the lead in pushing for a single legally binding treaty for access to and benefit sharing of biological resources at the 10th Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to be held at Nagoya, Japan, in October. The CBD was one of the key agreements adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro....
More »Climate change will hit small farmers most: Pawar by Gargi Parsai
Small and marginal farmers would be the worst sufferers of climate change, Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Sharad Pawar said here on Wednesday. “In the wake of water scarcity, erratic rainfall and changing temperature regimes, in addition to prevalent diseases and threat of new race of wheat stem rust Ug99, small and marginal farmers will be challenged. With the cost of cultivation already high, even a slight reduction in productivity...
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