Monsanto is currently facing biopiracy charges in India. In an unprecedented decision, India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a government agency, declared legal action against Monsanto for accessing and using local eggplant varieties to develop a genetically engineered version without prior government approval.
The Biodiversity Authority says that Monsanto failed to gain the appropriate licenses for field trials.
Green Med Info reports:
“India has a strong tradition of thwarting the commercialization of indigenous knowledge associated with bio-prospecting, which includes biopiracy and the search for previously unknown compounds in organisms that have never been used in traditional medicine, with the aim of obtaining lead and/or novel compounds for pharmaceutical patents.”