Neem
On may 10th, 2000, the appeals division of the European Patent Office revoked the controversial neem patent.
Awarded in 1994 to the US-based W.R. Grace Corporation and the US Department of Agriculture for a fungicide from the seeds of the neem tree, the legitimacy of the patent was immediately challenged by various activist groups from Europe and the well-known Indian scientist Vandana Shiva, who filed a joint appeal in 1995.
The objectors were supported by an international group of NGOs including the Berne Declaration. „How can anyone claim to have invented something that has been widely known and used in India for centuries“, said Dr. Shiva after the verdict was announced. In 2005, the European Patent Office rejected the patent owner’s appeal.
Awarded in 1994 to the US-based W.R. Grace Corporation and the US Department of Agriculture for a fungicide from the seeds of the neem tree, the legitimacy of the patent was immediately challenged by various activist groups from Europe and the well-known Indian scientist Vandana Shiva, who filed a joint appeal in 1995.
The objectors were supported by an international group of NGOs including the Berne Declaration. „How can anyone claim to have invented something that has been widely known and used in India for centuries“, said Dr. Shiva after the verdict was announced. In 2005, the European Patent Office rejected the patent owner’s appeal.
