Turmeric patent case pdf

Inventive step assessment based on case laws in india. The claim covered a method of promoting healing of a wound by administering turmeric to a patient afflicted with wound. To manufacture it, the roots of the plant are boiled, dried and then ground into a powder. India as a state was not involved, though its council of scientific and industrial research, which is partly governmentfunded, was responsible for challenging. This is a major victory because seldom does it fully revoke a patent it has granted. Biopiracy of traditional indian products an overview. The uspto revoked the patent, stating that the claims made in the patent were obvious and anticipated, and agreeing that the use of turmeric was an old art of healing wounds. In the late 1997, when an american company ricetec inc was granted a patent by the us patent office to call the aromatic rice grown outside india basmati, india objected to it. The european patent office in munich today dismissed an appeal against revoking a patent granted by it for the preparation of a fungicide derived from the seeds of the neem tree.

Since patent laws recognize property right over genetically modified organisms, it is also being contented that the preservers lose ownership in case of genetic modification. There were about 50 companies that tried to get patents on neem products and about 70 patents were rejected. This seems to be the first case in which the us patenting of tra ditional third world knowledge has been successfully challenged, sending signals that if patent. For centuries it has been known that turmeric exhibits antiinflammatory activity, but extensive research performed within the past two decades has shown that the this activity of.

Us patent office withdraws patent on indian herb nature. This dropped interest of neem oil by multinational mega corporations in the agricultural area. The indian government has successfully challenged the us patenting of turmerica standard ingredient of grandmas remedies in india for centuriesleading to cancellation of the patent. The patent was filed by the university of missisipi medical center, mississipi, in december, 1993. Us5401504a us08174,363 us17436393a us5401504a us 5401504 a us5401504 a us 5401504a us 17436393 a us17436393 a us 17436393a us 5401504 a us5401504 a us 5401504a authority us united states prior art keywords turmeric wound wounds healing patient prior art date 19931228 legal status the legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Three are by a japanese company and fifteen by dutch companies. America does not have the patent right for turmeric. He said the case also highlights the importance of documenting traditional knowledge, to provide evidence of prior knowledge.

Mashelkar, csirs directorgeneral, immediately after the verdict and he couldnt stop smiling triumphantly throughout the interview. Therefore, the tk that belonged to india was safeguarded in turmeric case. Us20120195949a1 turmeric pigment composition and method for. Traditional knowledge and the patent system lund university. Case of turmeric patentcurcuma longa, us patent no. Turmeric powder is widely used in india as a medicine, a food ingredient and a dye to name a few of its uses. India has been one of the major exporters of basmati to several countries and such a grant by the us patent office was likely to affect its trade. The firm says ricetec has got a patent for three things. Pdf medicinal and pharmacological properties of turmeric. Two researchers from the university of mississippi medical center in jackson, mississippi, usa, were awarded u. This patent also granted them the exclusive right to sell and distribute turmeric. The only sovereign state affected in the case was the united states, whose courts presided over the legal proceedings and whose patent office was forced to revoke the turmeric patent. Such arguments are frequently accepted as legitimate by patent offices.

A detailed study of patent system for protection of inventions. In 1995, two expatriate indians at the university of mississippi medical centre were granted u. In 2002 the world bank estimated what it would cost developing countries to adhere to trips. Patent case study two companies with two very different ip strategies. Potential therapeutic effects of curcumin, the anti. Turmeric oleoresin exported from india in 1998 was ranked third, after pepper and paprika oleoresins. Turmeric comes from the rhizome rootstock of the curcuma longa plant. Grace and the department of agriculture, usa in european patent office. Turmeric is a perennial plant of the ginger family, and its mustard yellow powder is commonly used as a culinary spice in south asia. Chapter 3 is a run through of the structure of the patent system within the european patent convention as well as a brief look at its history and theoretical justifications. The turmeric patent is just the first step in stopping biopiracy. Traditional knowledge and the patent system irreconcilable. One study showed decreased propionibacterium activity in vitro by curcumincontaining, lipidbased vehicles specifically lauric acid that can be found in.

United states awarded patent on turmeric to university of mississippi medical center in 1995 for wound healing property. We and others subsequently showed that curcumin blocks nf. The said patent is a method of controlling fungi on plants comprising of contacting the fungi with a neem oil formulation. May 14, 20 last week, the us patent office acknowledged it had made a mistake and cancelled the patent on turmeric. What the turmeric case clearly shows is that even though something is not actually new it can still slip through the cracks within the patent system. In december 1993, a patent was filed by the university of mississippi medical center, mississippi applicants received us patent 5,401,504 for the use of turmeric powder as a woundhealing agent by indian government objected to the patent the turmeric patent failed to satisfy the criteria of novelty. However, turmeric also has an active medicinal ingredient called curcumin which has many anti inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. Turmeric patent 4 april 2020 krishna pharmacy college, bijnor 9. Patent 5,401,504 on use of turmeric in wound healing. More specifically, the present invention provides a turmeric pigment composition in which aggregation and sedimentation of a turmeric pigment over time is effectively prevented even when a concentrated amount of turmeric pigment is incorporated in a solvent.

Jun 10, 2008 in the late 1997, when an american company ricetec inc was granted a patent by the us patent office to call the aromatic rice grown outside india basmati, india objected to it. The pto withdrew the patent on august after a yearlong legal battle with indias council of scientific and industrial research csir, which argued that turmeric, a native indian plant, had. A study of the basmati case indiaus basmati rice dispute. Banerjee 1, 1department of physiology, indian institute of chemical biology, 4, raja s. Turmeric has been on the centre stage for a while on account of the now well known patent on wound healing properties of turmeric. Oct 09, 2017 overview of the turmeric case the patent in 1995 two indian scientists working in the u. Mullick road, kolkat a 700 032, india 2deptartment of biochemistry, central drug research. The turmeric case was a landmark judgment case as it was for the first time that a patent based on the traditional knowledge of a developing country was successfully challenged. The pto withdrew the patent on august after a yearlong legal battle with indias council of scientific and industrial research csir, which argued that. The us patent office finally rejected all claims made by the claimants,on aug this. From sydney to san francisco, cafes and restaurants are adding turmeric latte to their menus and the rising popularity of the same is reflected in the gradual loss of sales of different coffee lattes. Applicants received us patent 5,401,504 for the use of turmeric powder as a woundhealing agent by indian government objected to the patent the turmeric patent failed to satisfy the criteria of novelty in view of the cited turmerics qualities documented in ancient medical textbooks. Us20120195949a1 turmeric pigment composition and method. A time tested folk medicine with ayurvedic perspective.

Oct 24, 20 traditional knowledge and intellectual property. The indian council of scientific and industrial research challenged the patent in october,1996,on the grounds that it did not satisfy an important criteria. Uspto revoked the patent, stating that the claims made in the patent were obvious and anticipated, and agreeing that the use of turmeric was an old art of healing wounds. Researchers breeders and companies of at least two countries have protected many varieties 18 of turmeric or curcuma longa. The general discourse of the bilateral turmeric dispute is of nonagreement, and involved a legal proceeding. India wins a victory over turmeric but the war is on. Why does america have the patent right for turmeric. The turmeric patent is just the first step in stopping. Turmeric, oxidative stress and inflammation 2 turmeric and alzheimers disease 2 turmeric and cancer 3 turmeric and arthritis 3 turmeric and blood glucose and lipids 3. This is not the case, however, with curcumin, a yellowpigment substance and component of turmeric curcuma longa, which was identified more than a century ago. Initially, this news was a disbelief and surprise by many people in. Overview of the turmeric case the patent in 1995 two indian scientists working in the u.

Turmeric is commonly used to flavor or color curry powders, mustards, and other foods. India wins battle with usa over turmeric patent the lancet. The outrageous nature of the turmeric case aside, it is worth considering the losses that developing countries incur by agreeing to enforce u. Traditionally used in chinese and indian folk medicine, turmeric bene. The portuguese had anchored off the malabar coast and were received with warmth by the zamorin.

Csir argued that turmeric has been used for thousands of years. The case, however, was resolved, with the court ruling that the u. The turmeric root is also used to make alternative medicine. Patenting aspects of traditional knowledge and natural. Summary the turmeric case is widely hailed as the first patent reexamination case where the rejection was based on the presentation of tk. Object the present invention relates to a turmeric pigment composition. Apr 18, 2017 therefore, the tk that belonged to india was safeguarded in turmeric case. The most prominent among these examples is the turmeric case. Biological actions and medicinal applic ations ishita chattopadhyay 1, kaushik biswas 1, uday bandyo p adhyay 2 and ranajit k. Two inventors of indian origin did patent the use of turmeric for healing wounds,in usa in 1995. Thousands of patent applications in the 1990s involved traditional indian medicine, and many lawsuits ensued. The guardian analyzing the market demand has given turmeric latte a title 2016s drink. Lake superior lodge case study how to write a persuasive essay about a movie embedded case study research design examples persuasive essay about animal adoption, argumentative essay topics on edgar allan poe, therefore essay meme write an essay on renewable energy study turmeric case patent on.

In the recent past, several cases of biopiracy of tk from india have been reported. B activation induced by different inflammatory stimuli singh and aggarwal, 1995. Case of turmeric patent curcuma longa, us patent no. The law firm of sagar and suri who won the turmeric patent case and presently representing the government against rice tec inc. Neem patent the patent for neem was first filed by w. Nov 26, 2019 turmeric is commonly used to flavor or color curry powders, mustards, and other foods. Turmeric has been used for centuries in chinese and ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of dyspepsia and epigastric pain. These two cases not only created a global awareness on neem and its properties but also raised issues on biopiracy, need for documentation of traditional knowledge, equitable sharing of. India woke up late but won against the attempt by two us based indians to patent turmeric, a success story it repeated with neem. India wins battle with usa over turmeric patent drugs. In 1995, the united states awarded patent on turmeric to university of. The curious case of turmeric latte bananaip counsels.

The biopiracy of traditional knowledge with reference to. The us patent office revoked this patent in 1997, after ascertaining that there was no novelty. The turmeric patent is just the first step in stopping biopiracy two recent decisions, one by the world trade organisation on a partys obligations under the trips agreement and the other, by the us patent office on the validity of a patent on turmeric have revived the whole debate on the patent regime imposed by the wto. Curcumin is a component of turmeric that has been most studied for its antiinflammatory effects. Turmeric is a rhizome root that comes from the plant of the ginger family zingiberaceae native to india and is used as a spice in cooking. Turmeric latte is experiencing a wide following and has attained a cult status in the market abroad. Patent exhaustion applies to method patents, which are exhausted by the sale of the item embodying the method 90, thomas. Is it true that the us patented the use of turmeric or. In the renowned turmeric case, the traditional knowledge of the indians was safeguarded.

The patent was rejected on the basis that products derived from genetic resources like peanut oil, sugarcane, corn, etc. Us patent 5401504 was granted in march, 1995, for use of turmeric powder as a woundhealing agent. Case of neem patent azadiracha indica epo patent no. Pdf turmeric or curcuma longa, is a perennial herb and member of the zingiberaceae ginger family, and is cultivated extensively in asian countries find, read and cite all the research. The us patent office, however, defends the patents arguing that while turmeric as a woundhealing ointment has been in public use, its application in the powder form is not known.

In this case, the united states patent and trademark office, in the year 1995 granted to two expatriate indians, a patent regarding the method of use turmeric as an antiseptic. Our laboratory was the first to demonstrate that curcumin is a potent blocker of nf. This seems to be the first case in which the us patenting of tra ditional thirdworld knowledge has been successfully challenged, sending signals that if patent. The turmeric patent is just the first step in stopping biopiracy two recent decisions, one by the world trade organisation on a partys obligations under the trips agreement and the other, by the us patent office on the validity of a patent on turmeric have revived. B activation is a topic actively being pursued in the academic and industrial settings. Turmeric has been used in alternative medicine as a possibly effective aid in reducing blood cholesterol, reducing osteoarthritis pain, or relieving itching caused by chronic kidney disease.