India's effort to digitize its traditional knowledge in form of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is paying rich dividends. Recently, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the proprietor of the database, foiled the attempts of a Danish firm, Claras ApS, and a Chinese Firm, Livzon, of bio-piracy. The Danish firm tried to patent in Europe an invention relating to turmeric, cumin, ginger and onion as slimming agents. On the other hand, the Chinese firm tried to patent in Europe an invention relating to use of medicinal plants 'pudina' (mint) and 'kalamegha' (andrographis) for the treatment of H5N1 avian influenza or bird flu. These efforts come after CSIR uploaded 900 yoga postures in the library in June to prevent attempts of patenting these postures anywhere in the world.
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