A flow chart has three boxes. Box 1: India grows about 27 documented varieties of basmati rice, developed by farmers over centuries. Box 2: a company abroad crosses an Indian variety with semi-dwarf varieties and claims the result as a new invention. Box 3: in 1997 the company gets patent rights on basmati through the US Patent and Trademark Office. What does the chart illustrate?
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In 1997 an American company got patent rights on basmati rice derived from Indian farmers' varieties. Using bio-resources in this way without authorisation or compensatory payment is called biopiracy.
- A.
GEAC rules on the safety of GM organisms; no such approval appears in the chart.
- B.
The chart shows a patent claimed without authorisation or compensation.
- D.
Gene therapy corrects genetic defects in humans; it has nothing to do with this patent.
NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Chapter 10, 10.4