Author: Intern - Krisha Meswani
The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, chaired by Shri V. Vijayasai Reddy, presented the 161st Report on “Review of the Intellectual Property Rights Regime in India” (the “Report”) to both Houses of the Parliament on July 23, 2021. The Report aims to analyse the current intellectual property rights (“IPR”) regime in India and list ways to promote and protect different types of IPRs.
In relation to Traditional Knowledge and IPRs, the Report highlights the challenges faced by indigenous innovators at the grassroots level due to lack of statutory protection for inventions based on traditional knowledge. In addition to this, the stringent criteria for patentability in India, prohibiting the patenting of an invention that is effectively traditional knowledge or an aggregation of traditionally known components, also contributes to the non-patenting of useful inventions that improve upon existing traditional knowledge. The Report suggests that this patentability criteria, set forth in Section 3 (p) of the Patents Act, 1970, should be revised and made more inclusive of the incorporation of traditional knowledge elements in inventions.
The Report also notes that the registration of traditionally known products or processes linked to specific locations as Geographical Indications (“GI”), would help in the consolidation and protection of traditional knowledge.
With respect to India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (“TKDL”), the Report mentions how structural issues and inefficiency in execution had left the TKDL inaccessible to Indians, leading to countries like the U.S. and China misappropriating traditional ayurvedic compositions from India. It is considered imperative for the government to strengthen the TKDL as a database, and implement a systematic mechanism of documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge in the country.
Furthermore, the Report states that there is insufficient understanding about converting IPR into monetary benefits in India. Therefore, it is urged that the government play a more active role in spreading awareness among tribal communities, forest dwellers, artisans and craftsmen, to claim IPR in traditional knowledge. It also encourages the government and the communities practising traditional knowledge to claim joint ownership of the IPRs arising out of such traditional knowledge, so as to limit their misappropriation and exploitation.
Concluding its observations, the Report highlights India’s role as a member of WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. In lieu of the same, it is recommended that India should engage with other WIPO member states to finally establish an internationally binding treaty for the protection of traditional knowledge.
The Report can be accessed here:
https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/Committee_site/Committee_File/ReportFile/13/141/161_2021_7_15.pdf.
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