WorldChanging ally and commenter Laurens "Lorenzo" Rademakers gave us a heads-up on a terrific bit of news: India has won a decade-long battle at the European Patent Office against a patent granted on a product derived from the native plant neem. The EU Parliament's Green Party, India-based Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) successfully argued that the anti-fungal properties of neem were part of the traditional knowledge of Indians, and that the patenting corporation, WC Grace, had engaged in "biopiracy."
The backbone of RFSTE's challenge was that the fungicide qualities of the neem tree and its use had been known in India for over 2,000 years.The neem derivatives have also been used traditionally to make insect repellents, soaps, cosmetics, tooth cleaners and contraceptives.
Vandana Shiva, the Indian environmentalist in charge of RFSTE, was quoted as saying "...Denying the patent means upholding the value of traditional knowledge for millions of women not only in India, but throughout the South. The Free Tree Will Stay Free."
Traditional Knowledge Databases are a good start to the documentation of medical, food, architectural and cultural knowledge of different societies, and can help Western political institutions recognize claims of "prior art" in biopiracy patent disputes.
