Reclaiming the Commons by Vandana Shiva

Author:Vandana Shiva
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780907791799
Publisher: Synergetic Press
Published: 2020-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Victory of Biodiversity and People Against Corporate Piracy of Neem

On May 10, at 2:30 pm

History was made.

Mr. Tzschoppe, the Chairman of the Opposition Division of the EPO declared that the “PATENT IS REVOKED AND THE PROCEEDING STANDS TERMINATED.” The four-panel judge revoked, in its entirety, the patent 436,257, which had been granted to the United States of America and the multinational corporation W.R. Grace for a fungicide derived from seeds of neem.

The ruling upheld indigenous innovation by communities against false claims of innovation and novelty by corporations. The 4-person panel judged the oral evidence presented in court and declared that the evidence given on foliar spraying of the hexane extracted 85 percent emulsified Neem oil proves “Prior art” with regard to ‘Inventive Step’, which is a prerequisite to obtaining patent protection.

On the issue of “Novelty” and “Auxiliary Request” related to concentration of Neem oil, the court ruled that the USA/Grace Neem fungicide product was lacking in “novelty,” another patent criterion, and established that its properties and use were “prior art” years before the “proprietors” applied for a patent.

And so on the May 10, the European Patent Office (EPO) revoked the patent 0436257 B1 relating to the ‘method for controlling fungi on plants by the aid of hydroponic extracted neem oil (neem fungicide) which failed to meet the criteria of Article 53 (a), 54, 56, 83 and 84 of the European Patent Convention (EPC). These Articles asserted: “Contrary to morality, lack of novelty, lack of inventiveness, insufficient disclosure and lack of clarity.”

In accepting the challenge and revoking the patent, the four-member panel of the EPO, headed by Mr. Tzschoppe at Munich, agreed that the patent amounted to biopiracy and that the process for which the patent had been granted had actually been in use in India from time immemorial.

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