A total of 448764 ISM formulations including 127533 in Ayurveda, 240850 in Unani, 70158 in Siddha, and 5445 in Sowa Rigpa, and 4778 in Yoga techniques have been transcribed so far into the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) database. On the basis of TKDL evidences, so far, 283 patent applications have been either refused, amended or withdrawn/abandoned, thus protecting Indian traditional knowledge.
As per the national Biological Diversity (BD) Act, 2002, approval of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is necessary before seeking any IPR based on biological material and associated knowledge obtained from India. Under the BD Act, 2002 and Rules thereunder, the NBA has also been pursuing efforts on Peoples Biodiversity Register (PBR).
The register is a tool for formal recording and maintenance of comprehensive information on availability and knowledge of local biological resources, their medicinal or any other use. The CSIR-TKDL Unit has signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with NBA for evaluating and identifying modalities for possible inclusion of information from the PBR into the TKDL database.
The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a prior art database of Indian traditional knowledge established in 2001, jointly by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (Dept. of ISM&H, now Ministry of AYUSH). The TKDL was established to prevent misappropriation of Indian traditional knowledge (TK) by way of intellectual property rights.
The TKDL currently contains information from ancient texts related to ISM such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga. The information from ancient texts of medicine and health existing in local languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Tamil, Bhoti etc., have been transcribed into five international languages, namely English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese in the TKDL database. The TKDL thus serves as a robust prior art database of Indian TK information therewith offering the information in languages and format understandable by patent examiners at Patent Offices worldwide. The TKDL thus prevents erroneous grant of patents by patent offices.
