Traditional Knowledge Digital Library

Last updated
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library
LocationVigyan Suchna Bhawan 14, Satsang Vihar Marg, New Delhi-110067, India, India
Type Digital library
Scope traditional knowledge
Established2001
Other information
Website www.tkdl.res.in

The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is an Indian digital knowledge repository of the traditional knowledge, especially about medicinal plants and formulations used in Indian systems of medicine. [1]

Contents

History

Set up in 2001, as a collaboration between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and then-Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India) the objective of the library is to protect the ancient and traditional knowledge of the country from exploitation through biopiracy and unethical patents, by documenting it electronically and classifying it as per international patent classification systems. [2] Apart from that, the non-patent database serves to foster modern research based on traditional knowledge, as it simplifies access to this vast knowledge of remedies or practices. [3] [4] [5]

As of 2010, it had transcribed 148 books on Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga in public domain [ citation needed ], into 34 million pages of information, translated into five languages — English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. Data on 80,000 formulations in Ayurveda, 1,000,000 in Unani and 12,000 in Siddha had already been put in the TKDL. Plus it has signed agreements with leading international patent offices such as European Patent Office (EPO), United Kingdom Trademark & Patent Office (UKPTO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office to protect traditional knowledge from biopiracy, by giving patent examiners at international patent offices access to the TKDL database for patent search and examination. [3] [6] [7]

The issue of biopiracy and unethical bioprospecting made headlines after the government of India successfully revoked or limited turmeric and basmati rice patents granted by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the neem patent granted by European Patent Office (EPO) in the late 1990s. Soon more such patent claims came to light. India’s vast traditional medicine knowledge existed in languages like Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Tamil, making it inaccessible for examiners at international patent offices to verify claims. This experience prompted the Department of AYUSH, government of India to create a task force of experts in the areas of traditional medicine systems of India (i.e., Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga), patent examiners, IT experts, scientists and technical officers, for the creation Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL). It was initiated in 2001. The tasks included, for example, transcribing Sanskrit shlokas which describe an Ayurvedic formulation in text, using Traditional Knowledge Resource Classification (TKRC) devised for the purpose, so that it is easily understandable to any patent examiner, anywhere in the world. For this reason, the entire 34 million pages of text is available in English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. [6] [8] [9] [10]

As the database project reached its completion, in 2006 the government allowed access to the library to international patent offices, including European Patent Office (EPO), Japan and the UK, subject to a non-disclosure clause. This allows patent examiners to evaluate patent applications and stop attempts to patent traditional knowledge as "new" inventions. [3] [7] [8] [11] [12]

Agreements were signed with EPO in February 2009, with United Kingdom Trademark & Patent Office (UKPTO) in January 2010, and with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) after the summit meeting between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also in January 2010. With patent examiners getting access to the TKDL database, legal cases regarding unethical patent claims, which had taken years and vast expenditure for each case, could be avoided. [8] [13] [14] From 2009 to 2011, EPO identified 36 patents making improper use of Indian traditional knowledge. [15] :214

Another project to include data relating to 1,500 postures in yoga began in 2008, after new reports of a large number of false gurus and yoga masters, who attempted to patent this ancient knowledge in their own countries. For example, 131 yoga-related patents were traced in the US alone in 2007. After an uproar in the parliament and media, the government of India took up the issue with the USPTO. [16] [17] Thereafter, a team of yoga gurus from nine schools working with government officials and 200 scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) scanned 35 ancient texts including the Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Bhagwad Gita, and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras to register each native pose. At the end of 2009, 1500 asanas were to be added. [14] [18]

In 2010, Union Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh stated that over eight years 34 million pages of information have been collected at an estimated cost of Rs 7 crore; at least 36 cases had been identified by the EPO and 40 cases by USPTO, using TKDL. As a future project, a people’s Register of Biodiversity, is being set up by the government, to document and protect, traditional knowledge passed down through the oral tradition, under India’s National Biodiversity Act of 2002. [19] [20]

In 2014, TKDL's administrative mandate was passed on to the newly created Ministry of AYUSH.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioprospecting</span> Exploration of nature for material with commercial potential

Bioprospecting is the exploration of natural sources for small molecules, macromolecules and biochemical and genetic information that could be developed into commercially valuable products for the agricultural, aquaculture, bioremediation, cosmetics, nanotechnology, or pharmaceutical industries. In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, almost one third of all small-molecule drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1981 and 2014 were either natural products or compounds derived from natural products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayurveda</span> Alternative medicine with roots in India

Ayurveda is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practiced throughout India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayurveda is pseudoscientific and toxic metals such as lead are used as ingredients in many ayurvedic medicines.

Prior art is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria for patentability. In most systems of patent law, prior art is generally defined as anything that is made available, or disclosed, to the public that might be relevant to a patent's claim before the effective filing date of a patent application for an invention. However, notable differences exist in how prior art is specifically defined under different national, regional, and international patent systems.

A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and oppositions to granted patents.

A patent examiner is an employee, usually a civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unani medicine</span> Traditional medicine from the Mughal empire

Unani or Yunani medicine is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The Indian Medical Association describes Unani practitioners who claim to practice medicine as quacks.

Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK), folk knowledge, and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan Patent Office</span> Japanese government agency responsible for enforcing intellectual property rights

The Japan Patent Office is a Japanese governmental agency in charge of industrial property right affairs, under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Japan Patent Office is located in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo and is one of the world's largest patent offices. The Japan Patent Office's mission is to promote the growth of the Japanese economy and industry by administering the laws relating to patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks. Copyright affairs are administered by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

A patent classification is a system for examiners of patent offices or other people to categorize (code) documents, such as published patent applications, according to the technical features of their content. Patent classifications make it feasible to search quickly for documents about earlier disclosures similar to or related to the invention for which a patent is applied, and to track technological trends in patent applications.

The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks(CGPDTM) generally known as the Indian Patent Office, is an agency under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade which administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siddha medicine</span> System of traditional medicine originating in southern India

Siddha medicine is a form of traditional medicine originating in southern India. It is one of the oldest systems of medicine in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</span> Cabinet ministry of Government of India

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, also known by its abbreviation MoHFW, is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India.

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a set of initiatives for providing accelerated patent prosecution procedures by sharing information between some patent offices. It also permits each participating patent office to benefit from the work previously done by the other patent office, with the goal of reducing examination workload and improving patent quality.

The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of traditional medicine and alternative medicine systems in India. Ayush is a name devised from the names of the alternative healthcare systems covered by the ministry: ayurveda, yoga & naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and homeopathy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Council of Indian Medicine</span> Former Medicine regulatory body of India (1971–2021)

Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) was a statutory body under the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India between 1971 and 2021. The CCIM was set up in 1971 under the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, which was passed in 1970. It is one of the Professional councils under University Grants Commission (UGC) to monitor higher education in Indian systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Sowa-Rigpa.

Thrissur Ayurveda cluster is an Ayurveda cluster situated in KINFRA Park in Koratty in Thrissur District. The cluster is meant for a comprehensive development of Kerala brand of Ayurvedic products and train the manufacturers of Ayurveda products on the importance of safety, quality and efficacy. The cluster have facilities for testing and analysis, process product validation, safety study and manufacture. The cluster is approved by the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).

Vaidya Balendu Prakash is an Indian Ayurveda practitioner. He is a former physician to the President of India and the founder of Paadav, a specialty Ayurvedic hospital in Dehradun. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri in 1999.

Paneenazhikath Narayana Vasudeva Kurup was an Indian Ayurvedic practitioner, researcher, writer and the founder director of the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRIMH). He is a former vice chancellor of the Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar and a former advisor of the Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. He has published several articles and a book, A Handbook on Indian Medicinal Plants, on the traditional Indian medicine system, The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for his contributions to Indian medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biopiracy</span> Harmful and/or unethical bioprospecting research

Biopiracy is the unauthorized appropriation of knowledge and genetic resources of farming and indigenous communities by individuals or institutions seeking exclusive monopoly control through patents or intellectual property. While bioprospecting is the act of exploring natural resources for undiscovered chemical compounds with medicinal or anti-microbial properties, commercial success from bioprospecting leads to the company's attempt at protecting their intellectual property rights on indigenous medicinal plants, seeds, genetic resources, and traditional medicines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Commission for Indian System of Medicine</span> National regulatory body for Indian Medicine Systems

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine is a statutory and regulatory body of 29 members, formed by Government of India for framing policies for institutions engaged in Indian System of Medicine and medical professionals. It replaced the Central Council of Indian Medicine on 07 October 2020. The institution will have Boards of assessment and rating and Board of ethics and registration of practitioners of Indian systems of medicine. This commisson is working under Ministry of Ayush and will govern the Board of Ayurveda and Unani and the Board of Unani, Siddha and Sowarigpa.

References

  1. Sengupta, Nirmal (2007). Economic Studies of Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge. Academic Foundation. ISBN   978-81-7188-586-2.
  2. Dutz, Mark (2007-10-15). Unleashing India's Innovation: Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. World Bank Publications. ISBN   978-0-8213-7198-5.
  3. 1 2 3 "Know Instances of Patenting on the UES of Medicinal Plants in India". PIB, Ministry of Environment and Forests. May 6, 2010.
  4. "CSIR chief stress on non-patent literature database". Business Line. September 23, 2000.
  5. Sengupta, p. 187
  6. 1 2 "About TKDL". TKDL website.
  7. 1 2 "CSIR wing objects to Avesthagen patent claim". Live Mint. Apr 28, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 "India Partners with US and UK to Protect Its Traditional Knowledge and Prevent Bio-Piracy". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. April 28, 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  9. Dutz, p. 14
  10. Alikhan, p. 85
  11. "Free access to traditional knowledge library". Financial Express. Jul 14, 2006.
  12. "Patents offices given access to TK library". Financial Express. Jun 30, 2006.
  13. "India documents traditional formulations, yoga postures". The Hindu. January 4, 2010.
  14. 1 2 "India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL): A powerful tool for patent examiners". European Patent Office (EPO). 2009-02-24. Archived from the original on 2010-02-17.
  15. Cheng, Wenting (2023). China in Global Governance of Intellectual Property: Implications for Global Distributive Justice. Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies series. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-3-031-24369-1.
  16. "Indian Government in Knots Over U.S. Yoga Patents". ABC News. May 22, 2007.
  17. "GRANT OF PATENTS ON YOGA BY UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE – THE FACTUAL POSITION". PIB, Ministry of Commerce & Industry. June 13, 2007.
  18. Nelson, Dean (23 Feb 2009). "India moves to patent yoga poses in bid to protect traditional knowledge". The Telegraph. London.
  19. "India favours pact for benefit sharing of bio-resources". Business Standard. May 22, 2010.
  20. "Biodiversity study with replay whiff". The Telegraph. January 5, 2010. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010.

See also