Nicola Twilley has an interesting post at the New Yorker titled: Who Owns the Patent on Nutmeg?.Apart from the predictive quote of V.K. Gupta, which may have great relevance to issues in patent reform, there are someanecdotes about the indigenous knowledge issue.For example, there are significant quotations of Professor Chris Sprigman [UofC Law, 1993] , now at NYU:Back in July, the Indian media triumphantly reported a news item that escaped the attention of many of their American and European counterparts—the country’s successful challenge of two European Union patents awarded to Colgate-Palmolive. The multinational had claimed intellectual-property rights on a nutmeg-based mouthwash and an herbal toothpaste. These products worked—that much was undisputed. Indeed, their usefulness in promoting dental health had been known in Indian culture for several thousand years. (In the case of the toothpaste, the Colgate chemists’ only substantive modification was…
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