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21 B. C. Third World L. J. 69 (2001)
The Ayahuasca Patent Revocation: Raising Questions about Current U.S. Patent Policy

handle is hein.journals/bctw21 and id is 75 raw text is: THE AYAHUASCA PATENT REVOCATION: RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT CURRENT U.S. PATENT POLICY LE.AN M. FECTEAU* Abstract: This Note explores the discriminatory effect of U.S. patent law and policy on indigenous commulities in developing countries. For years, Western researchers have relied upon local people to point them to useful regional plants and animals so that they could then isolate, develop and patent the chemical compounds found in the organisms. Yet, the U.S. patent system does not recognize or value the traditional knowledge of indigenous groups regarding their regional biodiversit. Rather, the researchers who isolate the compounds can obtain a patent with no recognition for the indigenous knowledge upon which they relied. Recently, the World Trade Organization has succeeded at globalizing Western intellectual property systems through international treaties. These efforts have met with significant resistance in several developing countries. The controversy over the ayahuasca patent is one example of developing countries' opposition to Western-style intellectual property rights. By implementing the suggestions described in this Note, the United States could ensure that indigenous lowledge would be recognized and thus could avoid future controversies like the one surrounding the ayahuasca patent. INTRODUCTION In 1986, Loren Miller, an American scientist and entrepreneur, obtained a U.S. patent on a strain of the ayahuasca vine.1 A)ahuasca, a vine native to the Amazon Rain Forest, has been used by healers and religious leaders throughout the Amazon for generations.2 For hun- dreds of years, shamans have used ayahuasca to treat sicknesses, con- tact spirits, and foresee the future.3 Many indigenous Amazon tribes also view the plant as a sacred symbol of their religion.4 * Managing Editor, BOSTON COLLEGE TmHI WORLD LAWJoUNAL (2000-2001). 1 See Glenn M. Wser, PTO Rejedion of the Ayahuasca Patent Claim: Badground and Analysis § 2, at http://ciel.org/ptorejection.html (Nov. 1999). 2Id.§1. 3Id. 4Id.

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