Difkin Fires First Shot at W.R. Grace in Battle Against 'Patents on Life'

摘要

An international coalition of over 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), led by activist Jeremy Rifkin, has filed a formal petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office calling for the revocation of W.R. Grace and Company's controversial patent #5124349, granting the company exclusive use of a pesticide extract from the neem tree. The patent is for W.R. Grace's formulation of a solution containing azadirachtin (the biopesticide contained in neem seeds) to meet U.S. market needs that pesticides remain biologically active for at least two years and thus have the necessary "shelf life."