primlane@hotmail.com
I am finishing up my thesis on the Neem: an intellectual property
perspective. It is called "The Knowledge Wars: an intellectual property
perspective on the Neem". Here are some germane snippets:
In the period of 1980-1998 there have been 79 patents on the Neem tree
The Neem is called "Arishta" in Sanskrit, meaning "Healer of all
sicknesses", and indeed, it seems to be: it is anti bacterial, anti
fungal, anti pyretic, anti diarheal, anti scabies, anti malarial. It is
used as a toothpaste, neem oil is used as a male spermicide, a vaginal
contraceptive, neem cake is fed to animals to heal diseases, neem is a
biopesticide that is systemic in plants, and is effective against 200
species of insects, including six species of cockroach.
The Neem's botanical name is Azadirachta indica A Juss. In Persian,
that means, "The free tree of India". It is not free anymore. The
prices of the Neem have skyrocketed in recent years, to make it a
commodity in th global market, and more inaccessible to the local user.
Additionally, under GATT/WTO, and the adoption of US patent law by all
members of GATT/WTO, member nations cannot cite "foreign differences" in
denying a patent in their land. There are many irregularities in the US
patent law regarding "patentability"- I would be happy to elucidate if
anyone is interested.
One last thing:
"multinationals" should be referred to as "transnationals" because
"multinationals" gives the impression that this corporation is truly
"international" in nature, and shares it's business among various
nations. In reality, these transnationals SPAN nations, an siphon their
profits to ONE home country. Their business interests are NOT
international, they are nationally-driven.
If anyone would like more in terms of my research, I would be happy to
provide.
Ritu Primlane
Grad Student
UCLA
Dept of Geography
primlane@hotmail.com
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