>Science Confirms Turmeric As Effective As 14 Drugs
Which is why people attempt to patent it.
Turmeric Patent Overturned in Legal Victory.
India's successful challenging of a U.S. patent (No. 5,401,504) on the use of turmeric (Curcuma longa L., Zingiberaceae) for healing has been an encouraging victory for Indian activists campaigning to protect indigenous wisdom.
After a complex legal battle, the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office ruled on Aug. 14 that a patent for turmeric issued to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in December 1993 was invalid because it was not a novel invention.
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This case is reminiscent of a controversy between nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in India and multinational corporations over patents taken on "industrial processes" related to the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Meliaceae). The NGOs regard these patents as corporate theft from the Indian people. Corporations argue that they need the patents to justify the financial investments put into research and development. Most fail to recognize or compensate the centuries of unpaid, unaccounted for trial-and-error "research and development" done by the Indian people. Patent concerns are currently holding some pharmaceutical companies back from further developing drugs from artemether.
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What people don't seem to recognize is that the patent on neem covers a preparation/formulation of neem. It does not interfere with people's rights to use neem in any way that they choose. Monsanto's only right under the patent is to protect the specific industrial process and formulation which the patent covers.
https://www.herbalgram.org/resources/herbalgram/issues/41/table-of-contents/article1242/