Video narration
If someone in your class copied your notes, claimed them as original, and profited, would that be fair? Now imagine those "notes" are a healing practice used by a community for generations. Biopiracy is the commercial use of biological resources or traditional knowledge without permission, acknowledgement, or fair benefit-sharing. A company may study a plant or remedy, file a patent, and present its use as new. But a patent is not proof of invention. The issue is whether existing community knowledge was taken without recognition or a fair share of the benefits. Turmeric-related claims and neem-related uses became patent disputes because traditional knowledge challenged claims of novelty. This is not opposition to research or nature-based patents. It is a demand to protect communities and share benefits when it creates value. So, was it a new invention? Not when it repackages traditional knowledge. That misuse is biopiracy.