TKDL Access Pact Between India, Australia Aims to Strengthen Patent Assessment

India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) provided access to its Traditional Knowledge Digital Library to IP Australia under an agreement signed during the 3rd India–Australia Annual Summit in Melbourne, an official statement said on Friday.

The TKDL Access Agreement is one of eighteen key outcomes of the summit and will allow IP Australia to consult the database to identify relevant prior art while examining patent applications in accordance with Australia's patent laws and examination procedures, the statement from the Ministry of Science & Technology said.

The agreement was concluded in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese MP.

The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a first-of-its-kind prior art database, has been developed by India to prevent the misappropriation of its rich traditional knowledge through the erroneous grant of patents.

The agreement will facilitate more informed and efficient patent examination while helping prevent the grant of patents on knowledge that is already part of India's documented traditional heritage, the statement noted.

India and Australia are both home to rich indigenous knowledge systems, traditional practices and cultural expressions that have evolved over centuries and are vulnerable to misappropriation.

The signing of the agreement reflects the shared commitment of both countries to safeguarding traditional knowledge and strengthening intellectual property systems through effective use of documented prior art, the statement said.

The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL), was developed to prevent the erroneous grant of patents based on Indian traditional knowledge.

The CSIR-TKDL currently contains information on over 5.2 lakh formulations and practices from Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga, translated into five international languages—English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish—for use by patent examiners worldwide.

With the signing of the agreement with IP Australia, eighteen patent offices now have access to the database under Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs).