Monday, December 24, 2012

Pomegranate Patenting By US Company Blocked By India

Traditional knowledge of India has provided many modern days solutions. Many foreign companies have tried to obtain patents that are primarily based upon traditional knowledge of India.

Till recently we had no traditional knowledge digital library (TKDL) of India. However, now we have a TKDL that is serving the interests of India and international community by thwarting any attempt to patent a product or service based upon Indian traditional knowledge. The Indian TKDL is a representative database of 1200 Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha formulations.

It has been reported that India has once again thwarted an attempt made by a US company to claim a patent at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the use of pomegranate for the treatment of ulcers. To achieve this objective the Indian TKDL submitted prior art evidences in December 2010 in the form of references in three books from 11th century to 20th century.

Naturally if prior art and knowledge about an applied patent is already available in public domain there is little scope for the grant of a patent in that field. Objections regarding such applied patent are natural and in most cases they succeed as well.

After the objections raised by the Indian TKDL the applicant tried to amend the claims on August 14, 2012, but the examiner later rejected all the claims. This is a positive development and Perry4Law and Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB) congratulate TKDL on its proactive role in this regard.