What does the Niira Radia tapes, Wikileaks and whole body scanners have in common? It is the end of privacy both for the public individual or the private one. For the public individual, every thing that they speak or write can now be put in public domain. A quarter of a million cables from US Embassies around the world, some of them marked highly confidential are now public. So are...
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What is Indian is India's
After successfully contesting a patent dispute with China earlier this year — regarding formulations based on “pudina” (mint) and “kalamegha” (Andrographis) — India last week won another legal battle in Malaysia against the use of “ponni” rice as trademark. Like basmati, ponni is also a speciality rice grown exclusively in southern states and has a niche market abroad. These and other victories concerning patenting of products like neem (Azadirachta indica)...
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New Delhi has done well to declare its intention to play a proactive role at the forthcoming Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at Nagoya (Japan) in October for thrashing out a legally binding pact on access to and benefit-sharing of biological resources. Being one of the world’s 12 mega biodiversity centres, India has substantial stakes in both preserving the biodiversity and capitalising on its commercial potential. Though the CBD, signed...
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 »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...
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