What ethical concerns are commonly raised regarding (a) germline gene therapy and (b) the patenting of naturally occurring genes or living organisms? Briefly explain each.

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Accepted Answer

Germline gene therapy refers to genetic changes made to an organism's reproductive (germline) cells -- eggs, sperm, or very early embryonic cells -- as opposed to somatic gene therapy, which alters only non-reproductive body cells and therefore affects only the treated individual. Because germline changes are incorporated into the reproductive cells, any such genetic modification would not be limited to the patient being treated; it would be passed on and inherited by that patient's future children and further descendants. This raises a distinct ethical concern: those future descendants who would inherit the genetic change had no opportunity to understand, agree to, or consent to that change being made, since it was made before they were even conceived; there is also broader concern about the difficulty of fully predicting or reversing the long-term effects of deliberately altering genes that will be passed down through a human lineage indefinitely. …

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Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.

CBSE 2026Set A1 markMCQ
$Q. In 1997 an American company got the patent rights for a new variety of Basmati developed by hybridizing Indian Basmati rice with which variety of rice?$
(a) IR-36
(b) Pusa 1121
(c) Semi-dwarf variety of rice
(d) Indica rice
›Reveal solutionSolution

The 1997 Basmati patent used a cross of Indian Basmati with a semi-dwarf rice; the correct option is (c).

Basmati rice is famous for its unique aroma and flavour, and about 27 documented varieties are grown in India. In 1997 an American company, RiceTec Inc., was granted a patent for a 'new' variety of Basmati that had actually been developed by crossing (hybridising) Indian Basmati rice with a semi-dwarf variety of rice. Sinc …

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CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 mark
$Q. Name the Indian crop variety for which in 1997, an American company got patent right through the US Patent and Trademark Office.$
›Reveal solutionSolution
The Indian crop variety at the centre of the well-known 1997 US patent controversy is Basmati rice, patented by the American company RiceTec Inc.

Biopiracy refers to the use of bio-resources and traditional knowledge of a country by individuals/organisations of other countries, without official sanction or compensation to the resource-owning country/people. A classic example discussed in the context of India's biodiversity and IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) issues is the Basmati rice case:

Basmati is a distinctive, aromatic long-grain rice variety that has traditionally been grown in specific regions of India (and Pakistan) for centuries.

In 1997, the American company RiceTec Inc. obtained a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Basmati rice grain and its cultivation methods, effectively allowing it to market rice grown in the US as 'Basmati'. …
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CBSE 2024Set E1 markMCQ
$Q. How many varieties of Basmati rice are grown in India?$
(a) 20
(b) 15
(c) 27
(d) 5
›Reveal solutionSolution

India has 27 documented varieties of Basmati rice, a fact highlighted during the Basmati biopiracy/patent controversy.

In the section on biopiracy and patents, NCERT notes that India has a rich diversity of Basmati rice, with 27 documented varieties grown in the country. This diversity became central to the dispute when a US company was granted a patent relate …

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CBSE 2023Set 57/1/11 markMCQ
$Q. Who among the following challenged the patent right granted to the University of Mississippi Medical Centre for 'use of turmeric in wound healing' ?$
(a) Mr. Ajay Phadke
(b) Ms. Vandana Shiva
(c) Dr. Venugopalan
(d) Dr. R.A. Mashelkar
›Reveal solutionSolution
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, led by Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, successfully challenged the turmeric patent granted to the University of Mississippi Medical Centre in 1995, demonstrating prior art from traditional Indian knowledge.

This question touches on a landmark case in the history of biopiracy and the protection of traditional knowledge. The turmeric patent case became a symbol of how indigenous knowledge systems can be exploited through intellectual property mechanisms in developed countries, and how systematic documentation and legal challenge can reclaim what rightfully belongs to the public domain.

In 1995, two researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre were granted US Patent 5,401,504 for "use of turmeric in wound healing." Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been used in Indian traditional medicine—Ayurveda, Siddha, and home remedies—for thousands of years, precisely for its antiseptic and healing properties in wounds. The patent essentially claimed as a novel invention what was common knowledge across the Indian subcontinent.

The challenge came from India's premier research organization, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), under the leadership of its then Director-General, Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar. Dr. Mashelkar was a visionary who recognized that traditional knowledge needed active legal defense, not just cultural preservation.

Here's how the challenge unfolded:

Identification of prior art: CSIR compiled documentary evidence from ancient Sanskrit texts, Ayurvedic treatises, and published scientific papers demonstrating that turmeric's wound-healing properties were well-established and publicly known for centuries. This included references from the Sushruta Samhita and other classical texts. …
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CBSE 2015Set ANNUAL1 mark
$Q. In 1997, an American company got patent rights on Basmati rice through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Variety of Basmati had actually been derived from Indian farmer's varieties. If so, what is Biopiracy?$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Biopiracy is when biological resources or traditional knowledge belonging to one country/community are used and commercially exploited by outsiders without permission or fair compensation — as with the 1997 US patent on a Basmati rice variety that had actually been bred by Indian farmers over generations.

Many countries, especially biodiversity-rich ones like India, hold vast bio-resources and centuries of traditional knowledge about their use (e.g. medicinal plants, crop varieties developed by farmers). Biopiracy occurs when other nations, companies, or individuals access and use such genetic/biological material or traditional knowledge — often patenting products derived from it — without obtaining proper authorisation from, and without sharing benefits/compensation with, the country or community that is the original source.

…

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Q.What ethical concerns are commonly raised regarding

Concept understanding — Biopiracy and Patents

Q.What ethical concerns are commonly raised regarding

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