Biology · Biotechnology and Its Applications · NEET
Biopiracy is the use of bio-resources (like plants, seeds, genes) by multinational companies and organisations without proper authorisation from the concerned country and its people, and without compensatory payment. The key words for NEET are 'without authorisation' and 'without compensation'.
NCERT says most industrialised nations are rich financially but poor in biodiversity and traditional knowledge. Developing and underdeveloped countries are rich in biodiversity and in traditional knowledge about bio-resources. So companies from rich nations take genetic material and traditional knowledge from countries like India, patent it, and profit, while the original owners get nothing.
Bioprospecting is the legal exploration of molecular, genetic and species-level diversity to find products of economic value. It becomes biopiracy only when it is done without permission and without sharing benefits or paying the source country and people. So the difference is consent and compensation, not the act of searching itself.
The Basmati rice patent by an American company in 1997 is the main NCERT example. NCERT also mentions attempts to patent uses, products and processes based on Indian traditional herbal medicines such as turmeric and neem. These are all cases where India's traditional resources were claimed by others.
NCERT states the Indian Parliament cleared the second amendment of the Indian Patents Bill, which takes such issues into account, including patent terms, emergency provisions, and research and development. Some nations are also developing laws to prevent unauthorised exploitation of their bio-resources and traditional knowledge.
Use of bioresources by multinational companies and organisations without authorisation from the concerned country and its people is called
A 'new' variety of rice was patented by a foreign company, though such varieties have been present in India for a long time. This is related to
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Biopiracy is considered unjust because it takes bio-resources and traditional knowledge without authorisation and without compensation. Countries are making laws, like the amended Indian Patents Bill, to prevent it, but historically many such patents were granted before laws caught up.
No. Biopiracy covers any bio-resources, which can include plants, seeds, genes, microbes and the traditional knowledge linked to them. The common NEET examples are plant-based: Basmati rice, turmeric and neem.
A patent is a legal right that stops others from using an invention. Biopiracy happens when someone patents a resource or knowledge that was actually developed by a country's people over centuries, taking that right unfairly without their permission or payment.
It is a direct one-mark definition question from the Ethical Issues topic of Biotechnology and Its Applications. NEET has asked both the definition of biopiracy (2018) and the Basmati example (2018), so knowing the exact wording is enough to score.
