CHENNAI, MARCH 20: Patents were important for food security and livelihood security and hence, there must be compulsory licensing of rights, noted agriculture scientist Dr M S Swaminathan has said.In an interview to Focus, a Chennai-based corporate magazine of the public sector Central Bank of India, Swaminathan said, "we must have patent laws because we too have Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Otherwise, we have an uneven playing field."If a new variety of rice which was highly resistant to all pests and diseases, in the interest of the food security of the country it should be made available to the poor farmers, he said."Patent regime should be one which respects our IPR, others' IPR and makes provision for protecting health and food security of the people, particularly the poor," he said.On what should be the approach to ensure bio-safety and possibility of Indians getting the taste of genetically engineered goods, Swaminathan said, only a few days ago at Montreal an international protocol was signed in which companies had agreed to label their products in genetically modified form.Swaminathan said to prevent bio-piracy and other such things internal laws had to be strengthened. "Otherwise, things will be one-sided, like not having a patent and, obviously, somebody else will patent your discovery," he said.While there was no Bio-Diversity Act or a Plant Variety Protection Act, the Government, in its current session of Parliament, would probably enact them, he said. Bio-piracy, in his opinion, must give way to bio-partnership based on principles of ethics and equity in benefit sharing."Our traditional medicines like ayurveda, siddha and unani are now becoming internationally important in what is called the Green Health Movement. In all these cases they must acknowledge the source of the knowledge," he said.On the issue of awareness in the country of patents, he said, while there was some awareness, it could be superficial, in the sense, some people might say somebody was patenting neem or turmeric. But it was not possible to patent these things."Patention means invention. What can be patented is some chemically evolved substance from neem or turmeric because the Patent Authority can always challenge a patent if there is no novelty or innovation," he said.
