2019 · GS Paper 3 · Q15 · 15 marks
How is the Government of India protecting traditional knowledge of medicine from patenting by pharmaceutical companies?
In short
India protects its traditional medicine from patenting mainly by documenting it in the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library and sharing it with foreign patent offices as prior art. Section 3(p) of the Patents Act and Section 6 of the Biological Diversity Act add legal barriers.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 274 words
TKDL
Set up in 2001 by CSIR and the then Department of AYUSH, it converts Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga formulations into patent-examiner language in five languages.
Access agreements
Shared with patent offices such as the EPO, USPTO and JPO, TKDL lets examiners find prior art before granting.
Precedents won
The US turmeric patent was revoked in 1997 and the European neem patent in 2000 after Indian challenges.
Patents Act, 1970
Section 3(p) bars patents on traditional knowledge, Section 10(4) requires disclosure of the source of biological material, and Section 25 allows opposition on community knowledge.
Biological Diversity Act, 2002
Section 6 requires National Biodiversity Authority approval for any IPR on Indian bio-resources.
Benefit-sharing
The Kani tribe shared licence fees for TBGRI's Jeevani drug, and People's Biodiversity Registers document local knowledge.
Global rules
Implement the WIPO Treaty on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (2024) and press for a TRIPS disclosure amendment at the WTO.
Oral knowledge
Document tribal remedies through Biodiversity Management Committees, with consent.
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Intellectual Property Rights5 questions
Asked in 5 of 14 sittings since 2013
- 2024What is the present world scenario of intellectual property rights with respect to life materials? Although, India is second in the world to file patents, still only a few have been commercialized. Explain the reasons behind this less commercialization.
- 2015India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), which has a database containing formatted information on more than 2 million medicinal formulations is proving a powerful weapon in the country's fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pros and cons of making this database publicly available under open-source licensing.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2019 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.