SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals | SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) | Ministry of AYUSH | Ministry of Science & Technology
India and Brazil have signed an agreement providing the Brazilian Patent Office (INPI) access to India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a global benchmark for protecting indigenous knowledge from misappropriation. Exchanged during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s state visit to India in February 2026, the agreement enables Brazil to use the TKDL database—which contains over 5.2 lakh formulations from Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and Yoga—during its patent examination process. This partnership strengthens global efforts to prevent biopiracy and the erroneous patenting of traditional Indian practices by facilitating a more rigorous assessment of “prior art” and novelty. With the inclusion of Brazil, the TKDL is now utilized by eighteen patent offices worldwide, reinforcing India’s role as a global leader in defensive intellectual property (IP) protection.
Key Pillars of the India-Brazil TKDL Cooperation
Defensive IP Protection: Utilizing the TKDL database to prevent the misappropriation and erroneous patenting of Indian traditional knowledge in Brazil.
Enhanced Patent Quality: Facilitating better assessment of “prior art” for Brazilian examiners, thereby improving the efficiency and integrity of the patent grant process.
Linguistic & Technical Bridge: Providing information in five international languages to overcome format and language barriers in global patent examinations.
Bilateral Strategic Synergy: Strengthening cooperation in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as part of broader engagements during the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Scientific Heritage Safeguarding: Protecting over 5.2 lakh medicinal formulations drawn from authoritative traditional texts through modern technical structuring.
What is the “Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)”? The TKDL is a first-of-its-kind digital repository established in 2001 to safeguard India’s traditional knowledge from erroneous patent claims. It translates and structures knowledge from ancient systems—such as Ayurveda and Yoga—into modern scientific terminology, making it accessible to patent examiners across the world in five international languages. By acting as a “prior-art” database, the TKDL has already led to the rejection or withdrawal of over 375 patent applications globally, effectively blocking attempts at biopiracy and ensuring that ancestral knowledge remains in the public domain for the benefit of all.
Policy Relevance
For India, this agreement represents a transition from “Vulnerability to Biopiracy” to “Sovereign Heritage Protection,” establishing a legally defensible digital barrier for India’s ancient medicinal systems.
Defensive IP Sovereignty: By granting INPI Brazil access to the TKDL, the CSIR ensures that Indian traditional knowledge is recognized as “prior art” in one of the world’s most active patent jurisdictions, directly preventing the commercial misappropriation of Indian heritage.
Bilateral Legal Efficiency: Providing proactive access to patent examiners allows India and Brazil to bypass the litigation-heavy process of post-grant patent revocations, saving both nations significant legal and administrative resources.
Institutional Implementation Fidelity: The involvement of the Ministry of AYUSH ensures that the 5.2 lakh formulations are not just “data” but are treated as authoritative medical evidence that can block erroneous pharmaceutical patents globally.
Strategic South-South Synergy: This partnership operationalizes a shared IPR defensive strategy between two major emerging economies, ensuring that the biodiversity and traditional knowledge of the Global South are protected against non-novel patent claims from developed markets.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What techno-legal standards are required for India and Brazil to jointly propose a WIPO-level mandate for using traditional knowledge databases in all patent examinations?
Follow the full update here: India and Brazil Sign TKDL Access Agreement