Letters: Protecting Indian ideas

Apropos the editorial "The Khadi appropriation" (November 13), the registration of Khadi as a trademark by a German firm to sell its own range of herbal products should serve as a wake-up call for the Indian government. We need to be proactive in safeguarding traditional Indian knowledge, which is our property. India alone has the right to use it the way it wants.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has a protracted legal battle in foreign courts to get the trademark cancelled. Putting traditional Indian knowledge in the public domain for intellectual property rights (IPR)-related institutions globally is just the first step. Government authorities should be in touch with such institutions and take measures at the pre-registration stage. IPR registration institutions should be asked to take suitable steps to prevent the appropriation of such knowledge, which has been handed down from one generation to another.

Deendayal M Lulla Mumbai

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