Multinationals abroad are soon set to face claims on their profits from an unexpected quarter. India plans to claim a share of the money MNCs make from patented innovations, if they contain any genetic material originally found in India. In rich countries, the biotechnology industry relies greatly on biological resources to develop new biotech drugs and genetically modified crops. These resources are found abundantly in countries like India.

This proposed assertion of rights will cover more beautiful things as well. The government’s idea is to stake a benefit-sharing claim on any product that employs elements of our cultural heritage.

So, if somebody makes use of India’s folk music or other creative expressions or traditional knowledge in farming or weather forecasting, they have to share the benefits with its real owners — the community concerned. The ministry of environment & forests and the National Institute of Science Communication & Information Resources under the science & technology ministry are developing a massive digital database of the country’s biodiversity and cultural heritage to support the prior existence of such wealth.

“We want to be ready with documented evidence to stake a claim by the time talks under the UN’s Convention on Biodiversity reaches an agreement on the modalities to access and benefit sharing of biological resources,” said a source. Now, talks are going on about how to compensate the country of origin, the donor country and the country of legal provenance for allowing a company to use their biological wealth.

Ways of benefit sharing among the company, the country from where it sources a plant, and the country where it was originally grown need to be worked out, in addition to the modalities for certifying a nation’s claim of origin. Enough groundwork has been done at the World Intellectual Property Organisation. At the WIPO general assembly meeting last year, developed nations led by India persuaded rich countries to start talks on ‘disclosure of traditional knowledge and biological resources’ in their patent applications.

An eventual agreement forcing the companies to reveal if they have taken tips from India’s resources will make patenting them difficult, as knowledge in public domain is not patentable. Officials believe that these two evolving frameworks will together ensure that MNCs disclose the source of the knowledge and resources, and reward the original owners.

(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com)