The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent on April 27 to Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc for a beverage made from extract of mangosteen pulp and pericarp (fleshy peel), said Witoon Lianchamroon, the director of Biothai, a non-profit group that looks at Thai intellectual property and biodiversity in Thailand.
Biothai found out about the latest “violation” of Thai property rights just last week, he said.
The mangosteen originated in Thailand and the country grew the largest volume of the fruit, so it was illogical for anyone else to claim property rights, Witoon said.
Mangosteen juice extracted from pulp has been available in Thailand for a long time.
With the mangosteen patent approved in the US, Thailand may no longer be able to legally export mangosteen in the form of extracted juice, as the patent applies to this.
The US patent covers 17 points of property rights for the beverage extracted from mangosteen pulp and peel, including a mangosteen drink mixed with the juice of other fruits such as red grapes and apples.
Witoon said Thailand should submit an objection to the US via the Department of Intellectual Property.
And, he added, it was crucial to check if mangosteen extract had been patented elsewhere, particularly in European countries, because they were a huge market for Thai mangosteen products, he said.
Dr Pennapa Sabcharoen, deputy director-general of the Department of Traditional and Alternative Medicine Development, said she had learned there were mangosteen products waiting for patents in many countries.
The government needed to take this issue very seriously and establish a body to deal with the problem directly and actively, she said.
According to Biothai, about 70% of violations to Thai intellectual property occur in Japan, which recently signed a free-trade agreement with Thailand.
Most other violations were committed in the US, which also wants to sign an FTA with Thailand, Witoon said.
“We need to protect these properties, otherwise Thailand will simply become a country that grows raw materials (for those stealing our property),” he said.
To prevent further violations, Thailand needed a database of intellectual property, which could be used as a reference by other countries, she said.
Excerpt from: The Nation
Technorati Tag: Biotechnology Malaysia Health & wellness
1 comment:
It would be difficult to stop Thailand property outflow to Japan, unless government create similar conditions. But it's impossible to do it very quickly, only step by step.
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