Fighting Patent Wars on Bioresources: The Indian Response

472-478Indian government has piloted three revolutionary legislations to protect the national intellectual property rights (IPR), viz. Patents (Second) Amendment Bill, Biological Diversity Bill and Plant Variety Protection and Farmers' Rights (PVPFR) Act. While necessitated by unfavourable commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO), these legislations attempt to benefit from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The pioneering provisions in these legislations include disclosure of source of material and knowledge, and grounds for opposition or revocation based on availability of indicative traditional knowledge. The biological diversity legislation would necessitate registration of public knowledge throughout the country, Prior Informed Consent (PIC) of the owners of the resources and knowledge as well as the government, for access to resources contingent to benefit sharing. It also charges government with monitoring and opposing IPR infringement of Indian resources and knowledge. Efforts of several NGOs and the government sponsored National Innovations Foundation (NIF) provide the platform to build the registration and benefit sharing system at the grassroots. Encouraging such measures internationally through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is advisable