The neem tree (Azadirachta indica) originates from the Indian sub-continent seven areas of IPR: Patents Industrial
dustrial designs Copyright and related rights
and now grows in the dry regions of more than 50 tropical countries around
the world. Generally, its properties are used to cure common colds and flu.
The oil extracted from its seeds can be used to cure various diseases. Mixed
in soap, it offers cheap and easy relief from malaria, skin diseases and even
meningitis. It is mentioned in Indian texts written over 2000 years ago and
has been used for centuries by local communities in agriculture as an insect
and pest repellent, in human and veterinary medicine, toiletries and
cosmetics. It is also venerated in the culture, religions and literature of the
region. Even though first report on pesticide property of neem was reported
in India in 1928, only after 30 years later systematic research work on neem
was initiated. The past five decades witnessed intensive investigation and
upward trend to scientific interest on neem and its diverse properties,
resulting in large number of research publications, books and conferences at
national and international levels. It led to isolation and identification of more
than 140 compounds, from various parts of the plant . It showed anti-
inflammatory, anti-ulcer, antimalerial, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral,
antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic activity . It also exhibited
impeccable insecticidal property which found its applications in pesticide .
Neem extracts can be used against over 250 pests including whiteflies,
aphids, mealybugs, mites, and termites. It is also effective against fungal
diseases such as rusts and powdery mildew that attack the leaves of
ornamental plants and food crops, medical, healthcare and cosmetic industry
all over the world. In the post GATT era, when India is a signatory to the
TRIPs agreement and is a member of WTO, intellectual property rights
(IPRs) are being considered as a tool to create wealth through knowledge.
The TRIPs agreements on one hand, and restrictions on dual use
technology, marketing, territorial restrictions and non-tariff barriers on
another hand have thrown many challenges and opportunities for scientist
and industrialists. The major challenge is in the area of IPR which has lead to
its recognition of importance by the R&D and to industrial organizations. After
signing of TRIPs agreements, awareness about the importance of IPR has
grown tremendously since 1994. It is essential to understand the importance
of IPR, why to protect IPR and its importance in technology development.
Such issues are discussed in this paper with special reference to neem
patents. IPR is concerned with the intangible property, it may be called as
Intangible Property Rights; as industrialists are concerned with IPRs mainly
in the context of exclusive protection and rights for their investment, so one
may call it a Investment Protection Rights too, however its correct
connotation is Intellectual Property Rights. The TRIPs agreement deals with
Trademarks Geographical indications Layout designs of integrated circuits.
Protection of undisclosed information There is an increasing awareness in
India of the co modification of neem will lead to the expropriation by
multinational corporations, like W.R. Grace . On Indian Independence Day in
1995, farmers in from Karnataka rallied outside the district office to challenge
the demands for made by multinational corporations for intellectual property
rights. As part of their protest, the farmers carried twigs and branches from
the neem tree as a symbol of their collective indigenous knowledge of the
properties of the neem . The United States, on the other hand, states that
what they are doing will help the Indian economy. India is not against sharing
its information about the Neem tree’s virtues, but it is against countries and
corporations that intend to stop India’s present use of it.
ISSUE: whether the neem tree is patentable, since it is a product of nature,
which shows that it is not a result of innovation and discovery
HELD: For centuries the Western world ignored the neem tree and its
properties: the practices of Indian peasants and doctors were not deemed
worthy of attention by the majority of British, French and Portuguese
colonialists. However, in the last few years, growing opposition to chemical
products in the West in particular to pesticides, has led to a sudden
enthusiasm for the pharmaceutical properties of neem.
In 1971, US timber importer Robert Larson observed the tree's usefulness in
India and began importing neem seed to his company headquarters in
Wisconsin. Over the next decade he conducted safety and performance tests
upon a pesticidal neem extract called Margosan-O and in 1985 received
clearance for the product from the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). Three years later he sold the patent for the product to the
multinational chemical corporation, W R Grace and Co. Since 1985, over a
dozen US patents have been taken out by US and Japanese firms on
formulae for stable neem-based solutions and emulsions and even for a
neem-based toothpaste. At least four of these are owned by W R Grace,
three by another US company, the Native Plant Institute, and two by the
Japanese Terumo Corporation.
Having garnered their patents and with the prospect of a licence from the
EPA, Grace has set about manufacturing and commercialising their product
by establishing a base in India. The company approached several Indian
manufacturers with proposals to buy up their technology or to convince them
to stop producing value-added products and instead supply the company
with raw material.

In many cases, Grace met a rebuff. M N Sukhatme, Director of Herringer

Bright Chemicals Pvt. Ltd, which manufactures the neem-based insecticide
Indiara, was put under pressure by Grace to sell the technology for a
storage-stable neem extract, which does not require heating or any chemical
change. Sukhatme refused their offers, stating: 'I am not interested to
commercialise the product.'

But Grace eventually managed to arrange a joint venture with a firm called P
J Margo Pvt. Ltd. They are now setting up a plant in India which will process
neem seed for export to the US. Initially, the plant will process 20 tons of
seed a day. They are also setting up a network of neem seed suppliers, to
ensure a constant supply of the seeds and a reliable price. Grace is likely to
be followed by other patent-holding companies. In 1992, the US National
Research Council published a report designed to 'open up the Western
world's corporate eyes to the seemingly endless variety of products the tree
might offer'.

According to one of the members of the NRC panel, 'In this day and age,
when we're not very happy about synthetic pesticides, [neem] has great
appeal.'

This appeal is blatantly commercial. The US pesticides market is worth about

$2 billion. At the moment biopesticides, such as pyrethrum, together with
their synthetic mimics, constitute about $450 million of this, but that figure is
expected to rise to over $800 million by 1998. 'Squeezing bucks out of the
neem ought to be relatively easy,' observes Science magazine.

The EPO delivered favourable interim judgement on the European challenge

patent on the fungicidal effects of neem oil. But the EPO agreed to withdraw
the patent on May 2000, the patent was revoked then.