Prada has admitted that its new leather sandal design was inspired by India’s iconic Kolhapuri “chappals” – handcrafted sandals known for their toe-loop pattern – following criticism for failing to attribute the footwear’s roots. The Italian fashion house’s corporate social responsibility chief, Lorenzo Bertelli, stated in a letter to the Maharashtra chamber of commerce that their sandals are inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear with a centuries-old ancestral lineage.
Western academics reduce India’s experts to “native informants” who are viewed as existing below the glass ceiling: the herbal farmer is a native informant to the Western pharmaceutical company that steals medicines for patents; the pandit is a native informant to the Western Sanskritist; and the impoverished woman in Rajasthan is a native informant to the Western feminist who wants to cure her of her native customs. Due to their current poverty, these “native informants” divulge information that the Western academic wants to hear in order to support his or her thesis since they are compensated for doing so. Western academics have hardly ever recognized India’s knowledge carriers as equal partners. The inclination to appropriate while disparaging the source has been made worse by the fixation with making “original” findings and putting one’s name on publications. ‘Academic arson’ is a fitting term for this.
India and Traditional Knowledge
India has thousands of years of heritage and is one of the world’s twelve most diverse countries. The ancient laws of India are divided into four Vedas, Upanishads, Epics, Puranas, Shastra, Smriti, and Srutis. India has a diverse assortment of medicinal plants, including herbs, shrubs, trees, and mangroves. Ayurveda is the oldest and most effective alternative medical system. Ayurveda is quite popular and has proven to be beneficial, leading people to believe in it for treating basic illnesses. The traditional medicinal systems include Unani, Yoga, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Siddha.
What is traditional knowledge, and how is it being protected by the Indian government?
A community’s traditional knowledge is a living body of knowledge that is created, preserved, and transmitted from one generation to the next; it frequently contributes to the community’s cultural or spiritual identity. Conventional intellectual property protection systems do not provide protection for traditional knowledge, which is defined as knowledge with ancient roots that is frequently informal and oral. Many developing nations have created unique procedures for safeguarding traditional knowledge as a result of this situation. India has contributed significantly to the documenting of traditional knowledge, placing it at the forefront of the International Intellectual Property System and ensuring its protection. Many patent applications pertaining to India’s traditional knowledge have been withdrawn or cancelled, or claims have been amended in a number of international patent offices as a result of the Indian government’s provision of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) Access (Non-Disclosure) Agreements with various international patent offices, including the USPTO, EPO, JPO, etc.
The product of the human mind and intellect is known as intellectual property. Globally, traditional knowledge is deeply ingrained, along with some unreported facts and other customs. The information that has been preserved and transmitted from one generation to the next, becoming a component of its cultural and/or spiritual identity, is known as traditional knowledge. The knowledge that different local groups hold is based on millennia of common practice and experience. Indigenous knowledge, medical knowledge, biodiversity knowledge, handicrafts, music, dance, song, storytelling, and artwork are the origins of traditional knowledge. Given their extensive reach, it is crucial to protect and conserve these systems in order to ensure their long-term viability. Given their extensive reach, it is crucial to protect and conserve these systems in order to ensure their long-term viability. Additionally, consistent practice creates custom. These are the parts of the knowledge that our ancestors had, knowing all the positive attributes of a certain plant, stone, or any other item that they believed had the potential to heal the human body through a unique mix of properties. Let’s discuss the specific aspects of the patent issues pertaining to neem, turmeric, and basmati.
Cases of Bio-piracy in India
Turmeric Plant
A member of the ginger family, turmeric is a flowering plant with roots in rhizomes. In Indian cookery, turmeric is used as a flavoring spice. It also contains beneficial ingredients for cosmetics and medications. has been used for ages to treat rashes and wounds. It has anti-parasitic qualities for skin problems. The US patented turmeric, which has been a widespread concern where knowledge of Indian origin has been registered as a patent proving its origin. However, India had also taken care to contest the ruling.
Patent Battle
A US patent has been awarded to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the topical use of turmeric powder in wound healing. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, New Delhi, further contested this, and a reexamination application was submitted to the US Patent Office, arguing that the usage of turmeric powder was not a new innovation and had been used medicinally for a very long time. All of the evidence for ancient Sanskrit was shown. The US Patent Office later withdrew this patent, arguing that it was obvious and that turmeric has been used for millennia in India.
Neem
In addition to food crops, neem extracts are used to treat fungal diseases and pests. Neem oil is also used to treat skin conditions, colds, and the flu. When combined with soap, the bark, leaves, and twigs of the plant can help treat anything from leprosy to diabetes. Neem twigs have traditionally been used as a toothbrush. According to Ayurveda, the neem plant contains antifungal, antiviral, antidiabetic, antibacterial, and contraceptive properties.
Patent Battle
The US Department of Agriculture and Corporation W.R. Grace Company submitted the patent for a technology they claimed to have developed to manage plant fungus by extracting neem oil. The European Patent Office issued the patent. Afterwards, the Indian farmers’ representatives resisted the patent. They provided proof that the benefits of neem seeds have been recognized and utilized in Indian agriculture for generations, making them ineligible for patent protection. The patent was withdrawn after it was determined that there was no inventive step involved based on the disclosed facts.
Basmati Patent
The aromatic kind of rice known as basmati is cultivated in many parts India. In the majority of Asia, including India, rice is a staple diet. For ages, the local farmers have cultivated and preserved a kind of rice. India is the origin of the long, fragrant rice variety known as basmati rice.
Patent Battle
A US patent on “basmati rice lines and grains” was awarded to the American company RiceTec. Both basmati and basmati-like rice are covered under the patent. The company also asserted that producing such rice is a fresh innovation. This also led to a crisis between the US and India. India threatened to take the matter to the WTO as a violation of TRIPS when the Indians alleged that the innovation they were claiming was untrue. RiceTec later retracted the patent’s claims. Because of their innovation in the basmati rice variety, RiceTec was granted the right to patent their product.
India’s inner sciences of mind and consciousness are being hijacked by the West and being portrayed as illogical and anti-progressive. In actuality, inner and outward domains of study are frequently perceived as diametrically opposed concepts that can, at most, be balanced but not combined. This makes the erroneous assumption that a person’s and society’s inner sciences hinder their ability to be innovative, competitive, and productive in the outside world. In contrast, India’s external development and internal sciences coexisted in a mutually beneficial partnership. However, the material and intellectual experimentation needed by science may coexist with India’s heritage of spiritual experimentation. Hence, It is overdue for the western world to publicly recognize Indian wisdom, give it the credit it deserves, and collaborate on a win-win basis instead of exploiting it.
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