GS3 2015 Q14 12 marks 200 words Intellectual Property

UPSC Mains 2015 GS3 Q14 — Intellectual Property

India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), which has a database containing formatted information on more than 2 million medicinal formulations is proving a powerful weapon in the country’s fight against erroneous patents. Discuss the pros and cons of making this database publicly available under open-source licensing. (Answer in 200 words)

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Question Decoded — examiner's intent

Directive verbs
Discuss
Scope keywords
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)database containing formatted informationerroneous patentspublicly available under open-source licensing
Implicit sub-parts
  • What is the current role of TKDL in preventing 'biopiracy' and 'bad patents'?
  • What are the strategic advantages of moving from a restricted access model to an open-source model?
  • What are the risks of commercial exploitation and lack of benefit-sharing if the database is public?
  • How can India balance defensive protection with offensive commercialization of traditional knowledge?
Common pitfalls
  • Focusing too much on what TKDL is instead of the 'open-source' policy shift.
  • Ignoring the 'Access and Benefit Sharing' (ABS) framework under the Biodiversity Act.
  • Failing to distinguish between 'defensive' protection (preventing others from patenting) and 'positive' protection (securing rights for the source community).
  • Treating 'open-source' as synonymous with 'free for commercial use' without discussing regulatory safeguards.
Dimensions required
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)Economic/CommercializationLegal/Regulatory (Biological Diversity Act)Ethical/Community RightsTechnological/Innovation
Marks allocation hint

Allocate 40 words to the current success of TKDL as a defensive tool. Dedicate 60 words to the 'Pros' of open-source licensing like democratizing R&D and global validation, 60 words to 'Cons' such as biopiracy risks and loss of commercial exclusivity, and 40 words for a balanced conclusion on the 'TKDL 2.0' vision.

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