Joy as Pelargonium patent revoked
Date: 01/03/2010
Introduction:
On January 26 the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) revoked a patent granted to Dr Willmar Schwabe in its entirety. The patent was opposed by the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) from South Africa acting on behalf of a rural community in Alice, in the Eastern Cape, in collaboration with the Swiss anti-biopiracy watchdog, the Berne Declaration. The patent concerned a method for producing extracts of Pelargonium sidoides and Pelargonium reniforme for the manufacture of Schwabe’s blockbuster cough and cold syrup, Umckaloabo. Nomtunzi Api, a representative from the Alice community, expressed elation in response to the revocation: ’this is the first time that a patent has been successfully challenged by Africans. It gives us hope for the future because the patent ends Schwabe’s monopoly over the use of our genetic resources and traditional knowledge.’ (Source: African Centre for Biosafety, 26 January 2010)
