Hi,
Happy to hear that news. The victory is a result of a four-year-long effort by Professor U P Singh, an agricultural scientist at the Banaras Hindu University who has represented the Indian side during the case. Also Kudos to RFSTE director Vandana Shiva !
Read another article : http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/may/11neem.htm
Regards,
- - Dilip V,
I blog @ http://www.dilpu.net/ Read : http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/intro/index.html
Speaking from Germany, Dr. Shiva — one of the three parties to oppose the patent — said: "It was pure and simple piracy. The oil from neem has been used traditionally by farmers to prevent fungus. It was neither a novel idea nor was it invented. It is a major victory that the appeal has been finally dismissed."
The patent was granted by the European Patent Office to the United States Department of Agriculture and the chemical multinational, W.R. Grace, in 1995. Since then, Dr. Shiva, along with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement and the Green Party in European Parliament, had been opposing it.