2. Collecting information in the fields of-
- Biopiracy and Bio-prospecting – A Brief Study,
- Effects of biopiracy on Biodiversity,
- Various Case Studies from the Past,
- Laws to prevent further abuse of bio-
resources.

3. Brief Description -
- Biopiracy is a situation where indigenous
knowledge of nature, originating
with indigenous people, is used by others
for profit, without permission from and with
little or no compensation or recognition to
the indigenous people themselves.
- Bioprospecting is an umbrella term describing
the process of discovery and commercialization
of new products based in biological
resources, typically in less-developed countries.
Bioprospecting often draws on indigenous
knowledge about uses and characteristics of
plants and animals. In this way, bioprospecting
includes biopiracy, the exploitative appropriation
of indigenous forms of knowledge by commercial
actors, as well as the search for previously
unknown compounds in organisms that have
never been used in traditional medicine.

4.  Due to the competition
in the pharmaceutical
and agricultural area,
big companies do not
have time to collect
samples legally, so
they engage in
biopiracy in order to be
the first to patent
biological material.

5.  Illegal collection of Bio Samples in the
biodiversity “hot spots”.
 Collaboration with universities, governments
and non-government organizations, which
are able to contribute relatively low-cost field
research and input.
◦ In exchange for their involvement, those
organizations receive:
 project funding
 Scholarships
 technological hardware.

6.  W R Grace Company patented the pesticide extract
from the neem tree
(sample taken from India).
 German Pharmaceutical company patented illegally
manzana variety of the chamomile (sample taken
from Mexico).

7.  Biopiracy alters the environment, which in turn causes
Biodiversity depletion.
 Food security is affected as biodiversity is a “safety net”
that increases food security.
 Loss of biodiversity, which is sometimes irreversible, often
means a loss of choices.
 Greater wildlife diversity may decrease the spread of many
wildlife pathogens to humans.
 In addition to agriculture, biodiversity contributes to a
range of other sectors, including -
 "ecotourism"
 pharmaceuticals
 cosmetics
 fisheries.

8. The Maya ICBG controversy
The Maya ICBG Controversy took place in 1999-
2000, when the International Co-operative Biodiversity
Group led by Ethno-biologist Dr. Brent Berlin was
accused of being engaged in unethical forms of
bioprospecting by several NGOs and indigenous
organizations. The ICBG aimed to document the
biodiversity of Chiapas, Mexico and the ethnobotanical
knowledge of the indigenous Maya People - in order to
ascertain whether there were possibilities of developing
medical products based on any of the plants used by
the indigenous groups.
CASE STUDY
#01

9. The rosy periwinkle
The Rosy Periwinkle case dates from the 1950s. The
rosy periwinkle, while native to Madagascar, had
been widely introduced into other tropical countries
around the world well before the discovery
of vincristine. This meant that researchers could
obtain local knowledge from one country and plant
samples from another. The locally known medical
properties of the plant were not the same as the
medical properties discovered and commercially
used by Eli Lilly. The use of the plant as a cure
for diabetes was the original stimulus for
CASE STUDY
#02

10. Basmati rice
 In 2000, the US corporation RiceTec (a subsidiary of
RiceTec AG of Liechtenstein) attempted to patent
certain hybrids of basmati rice and semi-dwarf long-
grain rice (see U.S. Patent No. 5,663,484). The Indian
government intervened and several claims of the
patent were invalidated. Meanwhile, the European
Commission has agreed to protect basmati rice
under its regulations pertaining to geographical
indications.
CASE STUDY
#03

11.  One common misunderstanding is that pharmaceutical
companies patent the plants they collect. While obtaining a
patent on a naturally occurring organism as previously known
or used is not possible, patents may be taken out on specific
chemicals isolated or developed from plants. Often these
patents are obtained with a stated and researched use of
those chemicals. Generally the existence, structure and
synthesis of those compounds is not a part of the indigenous
medical knowledge that led researchers to analyze the plant
in the first place. As a result, even if the indigenous medical
knowledge is taken as prior art, that knowledge does not by
itself make the active chemical compound "obvious," which is
the standard applied under patent law.

12.  The CBD came into force in 1993. It secured rights to control
access to genetic resources for the countries in which those
resources are located. One objective of the CBD is to enable
lesser-developed countries to better benefit from their resources
and traditional knowledge. Under the rules of the CBD, bio-
prospectors are required to obtain informed consent to access
such resources, and must share any benefits with the
biodiversity-rich country. However, some critics believe that the
CBD has failed to establish appropriate regulations to prevent
biopiracy. Others claim that the main problem is the failure of
national governments to pass appropriate laws implementing the
provisions of the CBD. The CBD has been ratified by all countries
in the world except for Andorra, Holy See and United States. The
1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPs) and the 2001 International Treaty on
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture are further
relevant international agreements.