NEEM PATENT REVOKED
In May, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) had revoked a controversial patent granted to the United States and the WR Grace company for a fungicide derived from the seeds of the Neem tree. The legal opposition to the patent was lodged five years ago by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy directed by renowned Indian scientist Vandana Shiva, IFOAM and Magda Aelvoet, former Green Member of the European Parliament and current Environment Minister of Belgium.

According to IFOAM, the fungicidal effect of the Neem seeds has been known and used for centuries on a broad scale in India. It would thus seem that the patent application in question lacked two basic requirements for the granting of a European patent, namely novelty and inventive step. Vandana Shiva commented, "We were certain from the beginning that the US/Grace patent did not satisfy the basic requirements for a patent. How could the United States or WR Grace say they invented something which has been in public use for centuries?" The victorious coalition further urged the patent office to reject the many other Neem patent applications still under examination.

At the time that the Neem patent challenge was filed, four patents on Neem products had been granted by the EPO. Today there are 40 Neem patent applications at various stages in the EPO, and 90 have been granted worldwide. These include claims for insecticides, fungicides, contraceptives and medical uses. The majority of Neem "proprietors" are transnational corporations.
Source: IFOAM Press Release, 10 May 2000.


http://www.foei.org/en/publications/link/93/e93gossip.html


AND ...

The "Captain Hook Awards for Outstanding Achievements in Biopiracy" were presented at the May meeting of the Biodiversity Convention in Nairobi by a group of NGOs working together in the Coalition Against Biopiracy. Winners were announced in categories including "Worst National Behaviour", "Greediest", "Most Offensive" and "Most Dangerous".

The US government won the "Most Dangerous" category for patenting the human cell line of a Hagahai man from Papua New Guinea.

The Pod-Ners company was voted "Greediest" for suing Mexican bean exporters, claiming that yellow beans grown for generations by farmers infringe the company’s monopoly patent.

The L’Oreal company was awarded runner-up for "Most Offensive" for patenting the use of Kava, a plant used in many Pacific countries and the source of a ceremonial beverage, to reduce hair loss.

"Worst Corporate Offender" went to DeCode Genetics for winning the exclusive rights to commercially exploit the genetic information of Iceland’s 270,000 inhabitants. DeCode has a US$200 million deal with Hoffman-LaRoche to identify "disease genes" derived from the DNA of Icelanders.

Honours also went to those opposing biopiracy. The quinoa farmers of Bolivia were awarded "Best People’s Defense" for courageously confronting the Quinoa patent by taking the issue to the UN General Assembly and forcing the holders to abandon their claim.

The Wapishana indigenous peoples of Guyana and Brazil were awarded for challenging patents on the Greenheart tree and the Cunani bush that are based on the indigenous knowledge of these peoples.

And the people and the governments of the Philippines and India were recognized for their success in defeating predatory patents and defending their intellectual integrity.


http://www.foei.org/en/publications/link/93/e93biopirates.html