African Plant Extract Freed From German Patent

The European Patent Office’s recent revocation of a German company’s patent on a plant extract is being seen by some as a step toward fighting biopiracy related to intellectual property rights. In its 26 January decision, the EPO considered the compliance of the company with the Conventional on Biodiversity rules on access and benefit sharing.

German company Schwabe Pharmaceuticals obtained a patent for a method of producing extracts of pelargonium plants on 1 June 2007. Pelargonium plants are commonly known as “African geranium” (according to Wikipedia).

The EPO decided to revoke the patent because “it did not fulfil the inventive-step requirements of the European Patent Convention,” according to the EPO press release.

An opposition to the patent was filed in March 2008 by a number of parties, such as Alpinamed, a Swiss company specialised in plant extracts, and the African Centre for Biosafety et al, according to the EPO patent file.

EPO also considered the “parties’ arguments on other grounds for opposition, and conducted an in-depth discussion of aspects of the biodiversity conventions.” The reasons for the decision will be published later, the EPO said.

The EPO’s decision may be appealed by Schwabe Pharmaceuticals and if the company so decided, the case would be reviewed by an EPO technical board of appeal.