May 18, 2000 / Nature 405, 266 - 267 / ULRIKE HELLERER AND K. S. JARAYAMAN
MUNICH -- A global coalition of environmental groups is, accroding to this story, celebrating a major victory in their fight against what they call 'biopiracy'. Last week, the European Patent Office (EPO) revoked a controversial patent on the use of antifungal agents extracted from the neem tree.
The patent was granted in 1994 to the US Department of Agriculture and the multinational agribusiness corporation W. R. Grace. But it has been fiercely contested by environmental groups, to whom it is a symbol of western multinationals' unacceptable exploitation of indigenous communities.
The neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which translates, the story says, as the 'free tree', is a member of the mahogany family. It is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, where it has been used in agriculture, medicine and cosmetics for centuries.
The EPO has received 51 patent applications for 'inventions' based on the neem tree, and has so far granted 11. Around 90 patents exploiting the tree have been granted worldwide.
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