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patent
piracy
The US recently
clarified that patents had not been issued on yoga positions but
reports confirm that it has approved 150 yoga-related copyrights, 134
patents on yoga devices and 2,315 yoga-related trademarks. Vibha
Sharma looks at the past disputes over patents issued for
traditional Indian resources and the checks required to tackle US
patent laws, which provide the developing world little protection
against bio-piracy
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most things in this world, it is all about money. Whether it is
turmeric, tulsi, neem, basmati or the latest controversy
regarding the US patents office granting patent on yoga postures
(which the US has since then denied), the fact of the matter is that
more than the original concept behind patents protecting the
creativity of an individual so that the knowledge could be used to
benefit society, intellectual property rights are now all about
big bucks. |
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other
disputes
IN
the past there have been several disputes and litigations after
patents were issued on some essentially Indian finds and
products. In 1995, the US
patents office granted turmeric patent to two NRIs, working with
the University of Mississipi Medical Center. Rhizomes of
turmeric have been used for generations in Indian households.
Turmeric, or haldi as we Indians know it, has properties that
make it an effective ingredient in medicines, cosmetics and
colour dyes.
FOOTLOOSE IN BERLIN
Once in the city, you
will soon discover that all Germans are not serious people who do not
like to have fun. You will also soon enough dispel the myth that
German cuisine consists mainly of meat and is thus very unappealing to
veggies. In fact you will just fall in love with the city,
says Gyan
Marwah
Berlin
is truly an East-meets-West city that is at the heart of a changing
Europe. This is Germany's city of opportunities just waiting to be
discovered. A city where entertainment, recreation, economy, science
and academic life all co-exist in harmony. When you enter the city
from Tegel airport you'll feel a sense of shared exhilaration. Because
you're in a city born anew.
French
twist in the tale
Remaking French films has
been an age-old Hollywood tradition. In recent years, Bollywood has
also been bitten by the Gallic bug, writes Vikramdeep
Johal
WHAT
do Dhoom (2004), Fun2shh (2003) and this year’s
sleeper success, Bheja Fry, have in common? Their hatke
stories and characters? Well, if you have loved them, then here’s a
spoiler—they are all inspired by smash hits of contemporary French
cinema. Sagar Ballary’s Bheja
Fry, made at a shoe-string budget of Rs 60 lakh, has grossed over
Rs 12 crore within two months of its release.
Teachers
as torch-bearers
Holding up a mirror to moral
and social prejudices, the teacher in Hindi films has always stood
upright despite the crumbling value system in our society, writes M.
L. Dhawan
Filmistan
Productions’ Jagriti (1954) dwelt on problem children. Fed up
with a group of incorrigible students and their irreverence for
authority, the Principal is on the verge of expelling them when a
devoted teacher, Abhi Bhattacharyya, shoulders the responsibility to
reform them. He wins over the children with love and affection.
I’m
excited about Halla Bol: Vidya
Vidya
Balan laughs off allegations that she opted out of Pradeep Sarkar’s
"Laaga Chunari Mein Daag" because she didn’t want to play
second lead in a Rani Mukerji starrer. "I
actually can’t believe I’m not doing dada’s (Sarkar) film.
There’s no way I could’ve let this happen. But dada wanted to
complete the film within a certain period and those dates were
committed to Sajid Khan’s Hey Baby a year back," Vidya
explains.
Garden
handbook
People who sell us pesticides
for the garden and home never tell us about the side effects, the
dangers of their uses, writes Daksha Hathi
FOR
most people who own gardens, the rose is a hot favourite. Tragically,
this is also the flower that coaxes gardeners to use several chemical
pesticides in the garden since many pests attack it. Everybody
who wants to start gardening or is already enjoying it, must read Silent
Spring by Rachel Carson, the Bible for all those interested in
plants, health, animals, birds, life itself.
Astronomers
discover 28 new exoplanets
Astronomers
have discovered 28 new planets outside of our solar system, increasing
to 236 the number of known exoplanets. "We
added 12 per cent to the total in the last year, and we’re very
proud of that. This provides new planetary systems so that we can
study their properties as an ensemble," said Jason Wright of the
University of California at Berkeley, one of the study team members.
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Society
Urban black
holes
Most of the slums are devoid
of sanitation and other basic amenities. As a result, for every 1000
infants born in these dwellings, 100 die, reports Nitin
Jugran Bahuguna on the condition of the majority living in our
cities.
About
1,70,000 children die in urban slums of India every year. For every
1,000 neo-natals, infants and under-fives born in the bastis
(slums), approximately 100 die. These
were some of the disturbing facts brought to the fore at a recent
meeting organised by the Urban Health Resource Centre, a Delhi-based
NGO in the Capital, to highlight the relationship between child
morbidity and mortality and the growing marginalisation of the urban
poor.
Unsung Sikh hero Banda
Bahadar
Kulbir Singh Sidhu
BABA
Banda Singh Bahadar, the great disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, rose up
in arms against tyranny in the footsteps of his master to defend and
safeguard humanity. He treaded the glorious path of supreme sacrifice
and kept aloft the ‘flame of liberty’ burning bright with his
fortitude and sacrifice in the face of untold misery and torture.
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