Biopiracy is the miss-appropriation and commercialization of genetic resources, traditional knowledge of the indigenous communities.
Biopirates make profit from freely available natural products such as plants, seeds, leaves etc. by copying techniques used daily for generations by local peoples in order to feed or take care of themselves.
Biopirates are mainly pharmaceutical, cosmetic and agri-food firms. They draw on biodiversity hotspots in order to create supposedly ‘innovative’ products and guarantee their monopoly on them through the patent system.
These products are often to a large extent inspired by techniques and knowledge that have already been known and ....
