Indian Spice Patent Challenge: Turmeric
The Indian government successfully challenged and forced the revocation of a US patent granted for the Indian spice Turmeric. This case highlighted issues of biopiracy and the importance of protecting traditional knowledge.
Background of the Turmeric Patent Case
- The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initially granted a patent to two US scientists for the use of Turmeric in wound healing.
- This patent was based on traditional Indian knowledge, which has documented the medicinal properties of Turmeric for centuries.
- The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, along with two researchers from India, challenged the validity of the patent.
- CSIR presented evidence of prior art, demonstrating that the use of Turmeric for healing wounds was widely known and documented in India long before the patent application.
Outcome
The challenge led to the USPTO revoking the patent in 1997. This landmark victory affirmed India's claim over its traditional knowledge related to Turmeric and set a precedent for challenging patents based on biopiracy.
Similar Questions
- As of November 2020, who was the Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog?
- In April 2025, a tri-services all women circumnavigation sailing expedition, 'Samudra Pradakshina' flagged off from:
- India's first biofuel-powered flight landed at IGI Airport in New Delhi from _____ in 2018.
- Where did the Prime Minister inaugurate the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology in 2019?
- Name the state where India's longest (300 m) single-lane steel cable suspension bridge was inaugurated over river Siang.
- Where did the first confirmed death from COVID-19 occur in India?
- The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Amit Shah. When did this act of Parliament receive the assent of the President?
- When did an Indian chief minister hoist the national flag on Independence Day for the first time?
- In April 2019, _______ became the first Indian woman to be elected to the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
- VVPAT is a machine that is used in Indian elections to ensure that the citizen's vote has been correctly placed. What is the full form of VVPAT?
Important Questions from National Affairs
Since the launch of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, how much per cent of loans have been given to women entrepreneurs?
As announced in the Budget 2021, to promote seaweed cultivation, Govt. will establish Multipurpose Seaweed Park in ___________ by Indian Government.
Which organization has launched a new technology 'Swastik' to disinfect water using natural oils?
Which one of the following is an important social indicator to measure the extent of equality between men and women in a society, at a given point of time?
As on March 2020, India comprises twenty-eight states and ______ union territories.
