Biotechnology and its Applications Test - 12

Rice is an important food grain, the presence of which goes back thousands of years in Asia’s agricultural history. There are an estimated 200,000 varieties of rice in India alone.

The diversity of rice in India is one of the richest in the world. Basmati rice is distinct for its unique aroma and flavour and 27 documented varieties of Basmati are grown in India. There is reference to Basmati in ancient texts, folklore and poetry, as it has been grown for centuries.

Basmati rice is distinct for its unique aroma and flavour and 27 documented varieties of Basmati are grown in India. There is reference to Basmati in ancient texts, folklore and poetry, as it has been grown for centuries.

In 1997, an American company got patent rights on Basmati rice through the US Patent and Trademark Office. This allowed the company to sell a ‘new’ variety of Basmati, in the US and abroad. This ‘new’ variety of Basmati had actually been derived from Indian farmer’s varieties.

Indian Basmati was crossed with semi-dwarf varieties and claimed as an invention or a novelty. The patent extends to functional equivalents, implying that other people selling Basmati rice could be restricted by the patent.

Biopiracy describes a practice in which indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous peoples, is used by others for profit, without permission from and with little or no compensation or recognition to the indigenous people themselves.

Most of the industrial nations are rich financially but poor in biodiversity and traditional knowledge. These nations unlawfully exploit the bio-resources of developing nations.

Most of the industrialised nations are rich financially but poor in biodiversity and traditional knowledge. In contrast the developing and the underdeveloped world is rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge related to bio-resources. Traditional knowledge related to bio-resources can be exploited to develop modern applications and can also be used to save time, effort and expenditure during their commercialisation.

Bioprospecting is the process of discovery and commercialization of new products based on biological resources. Despite indigenous knowledge being intuitively helpful, bioprospecting has only recently begun to incorporate such knowledge in focusing screening efforts for bioactive compounds.

Bioprospecting may involve biopiracy, the exploitative appropriation of indigenous forms of knowledge by commercial actors, and also includes the search for previously unknown compounds in organisms that have never been used in traditional medicine before.

The current interest in the manipulation of microbes, plants and animals have raised serious ethical questions due to involvement of multinational companies and other organizations in exploiting bio-resources of other countries.

Biopiracy is the term used to refer to the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organisations without proper authorisation from the countries and people concerned without compensatory payment.

Most of the industrialised nations are rich financially but poor in biodiversity and traditional knowledge. In contrast the developing and the underdeveloped world is rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge related to bio-resources. Traditional knowledge related to bio-resources can be exploited to develop modern applications and can also be used to save time, effort and expenditure during their commercialisation.

There has been growing realisation of the injustice, inadequate compensation and benefit sharing between developed and developing countries. Therefore, some nations are developing laws to prevent such unauthorised exploitation of their bio-resources and traditional knowledge.

The Patent (Second) Amendment Bill The Patent (Second Amendment) Bill 2000 has been proposed by the Government to bridge the conflict between the TRIPS and the Patent Act, 1970. Thus, it will be wise to deal with the important amendments proposed by Bill of 2000. Further the need for any further amendment will also be discussed herein. The discussion will be restricted to those amendments, which have relevance to TRIPS. The proposed amendment provides for changes in the -

• Scope of patentable inventions.
• grant of new rights 
• Extension of the term of protection
• Provision for reversal of burden of proof in case of process patent infringement
• Condition for compulsory licenses.

Biopiracy describes a practice in which indigenous knowledge of nature, originating with indigenous peoples, is used by others for profit, without permission from and with little or no compensation or recognition to the indigenous people themselves. Multinational companies involved in food crops and medicinal crops and industrialized nations are frequently involved in biopiracy.