Kanjeevarams From Kansas, Anyone?

Rice, Sir Basmati. The commerce ministry may have won a hard-fought legal battle over the ownership of the basmati brandname, but the war continues. And the field of engagement has been extended beyond the aromatic long-grained produce. Welcome to the world of basmati sweets, ice-cream, honey...

Indeed, the fight against biopiracy is not limited to basmati or rice. There is a sustained effort worldwide to patent a large number of medicinal and plant crops that are either unique to the subcontinent or are part of the country's traditional lore.

Basmati, though, is a good example. Consider some of the samples submitted to the commerce ministry over the last fortnight. The government was told that of the 33 patent cases currently involving basmati in international courts, 13 relate to products other than rice. For example, companies in Brazil want to sell basmati sweets and powder, Sweden juices, Pakistan spices, Germany wants a basmati export-import agency (which will deal with products besides rice), Israel flour and Turkey edible oils. Worse, a handful of Colombian companies want to sell honey, tapioca, ice-creams, bread and even pastries under the basmati name. And despite the much-publicised case against RiceTec Corporation of Texas and New Delhi's global warnings against any such move, three new cases were filed for trademark on rice this year. The one from Kuwait was to register Al-Sado Pure Basmati Rice and sell coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, tapioca and sago under the brand (see graphic)!

"This is sheer madness," says R.A. Mashelkar, director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (csir). "Companies across the world want almost anything and everything to be produced under trademarks which are distinctly common to the subcontinent. We need to quickly put the geographical indicators in place so that tomorrow problems relating to products like Kohlapuri chappals, Alphonso mangoes and Kanjeevaram silk sarees do not occur."

And there is enough reason to be worried, especially since the Indian government was initially lethargic in its reaction to the basmati crisis and started actively pursuing the case only after the intervention of the Supreme Court, which reacted on a petition filed by a Delhi-based ngo. In a recent communique to the government, the London-based Trademark Directory Services—hired to search international patent databases for patents and trademark of interests to India—revealed that trademark cases against basmati are registered in a host of countries including Australia, Colombia, the Benelux countries, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, Israel, Poland, the UK and the US. Of the 24 countries against whom trademark cases fought on basmati, India has already won 15 while in the rest hearings are on.

But opinion is divided on safeguards against future ambitious patenting. While the commerce ministry feels the recently formulated Geographical Indicator Act will guarantee enough protection against biopiracy of medicinal plants and crops, a sizeable section of experts feel New Delhi needs to develop a sui generis system which protects the collective, cumulative innovations, embodied in traditional knowledge as societal common property.

"Regulations for the Geographical Indicator Act have almost been finalised by the Department of Industrial Promotion and includes sectors like quality parameters in taste and geographical area," says Anil Swarup, chairman of the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (apeda). But Vandana Shiva of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology feels geographical indicators address only exports of a small number of commodities, not the rights of Indian farmers to use, save, exchange and improve their seeds for domestic production or protection for indigenous knowledge. "The wto guarantees protection for wines and spirits (for example, champagne) but blocks India's attempts to have basmati and Darjeeling tea included in geographical indicators. Alphonso mangoes, Darjeeling tea and Kanjeevaram sarees have no relevance in deeper conflicts relating to patenting of life forms and piracy of our traditional knowledge in agriculture and medicine. The patent paradigm needs change."

Shiva, who recently submitted a complete list of medicinal plants and crops under threat to the government, feels there has to be a larger interaction between ngos and government bodies like the csir and apeda to check such crimes. "An American timber merchant tried to patent neem after seeing neem leaves kept with grain (as disinfectant) by Indian villagers. And, as usual, the government reacted inordinately late. Efforts like this will only increase. We need to know who is this Surendra Rohtagi of Kanpur who has the patent from the US Patent Office of plants like Harad (Haritaki/Terminalia chebula) and Bhu Amla (Phyllanthus niruri) to work out ayurvedic composition for treatment of aids, flu, tuberculosis and other immuno-deficiencies. Who is Bhushan Patwardhan of Pune who has a patent for Shallaki (Salai/Boswellia serrato) for treating musculo-skeletal disorders? Now they have not assigned (the patents) to any multinational. But once they do, India will have a problem," warns Shiva.

Echoes Dr Dinesh Abrol, senior scientist at the National Institute of Scientific Technology and Development Studies: "Honestly, domestic laws on geographical indicators are toothless without appropriate amendments in trips. wto made patent laws global. They need to be brought back to a national-sovereign space. Patents need limits and boundaries. After all, life forms and traditional knowledge cannot be treated as inventions. They need to be excluded from patentability, in India and other parts of the world. The industry needs to be mobilised as the next round of attack will definitely be on India's herbal wealth."

Patents expert S.P. Shukla agrees: "There seems to be a clear lack of foresight. Medicinal plants are the green 'oil' of the future and if the government is lackadaisical in its approach, then it is the role of industry—especially pharmaceutical companies—to maintain a strict vigil."

Not that local industry is unaware of possible areas of tension. At a recent seminar on patents organised by experts from the Japan Patent Office and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (wipo) in Delhi, speakers were told how infringement of patents would become a major financial burden for the infringer, especially when the new patent law comes into force. "Indian companies must be aware of this and act accordingly," says B.K. Raizada, senior vice-president, Ranbaxy Laboratories. "Why only agricultural products, the current Indian Patents Act does not provide protection to software," he adds.

Neem, tamarind and basmati were wake-up calls though there may not be too many in the near future. The country's rich heritage of medicinal plants is under threat from biopiracy. And to protect that heritage, it's time for the government to awake. And arise.