A Multinational company (xyz) marked a medicine extracted from medicinal herbs grown in the sprawling fields in a foreign country. This herb is found only our country and no compensation was paid or permission taken from relevant authority. a) What was the term used to refer to such an act committed by the multinational company? b) Justify the meaning of the term. c) What has our government done to prevent such deeds?
Answers
Answer:
Such an act is termed as BIOPIRACY
Explanation:
Biopiracy as the name indicate is stealing of ideas or traditional usage of plants or animals by a MNC without the permission from the country or locality of its origin. (just like a pyrate)
Here the biological products are patended by MNC and thus prevent the traditional users to use those things..
eg Monsanto company in US took patent on antimicrobial property of turmeric and prevented others from using it without their permission.it had been used by indians for centuaries as an antimicrobial agent in wounds..
after many years of struggle india got the patent back.
Similar in the case of Basmathi rice
Govt is having machineries to check such patents and crimes by MNC of other companies
a) The term is biopiracy
The practice of commercially exploiting naturally occurring biochemical or genetic material, especially by obtaining patents that restrict its future use, while failing to pay fair compensation to the community from which it originates.