Who Owns An Herb's Healing Power? Brazil's Indians take path
toward medicinal patents If multinational corporations are going
to claim property rights in ancient plant formulas, herbs and
healing methods, why shouldn't indigenous people do likewise?
But can the "property rights" game be played fairly, or will it
always be corrupted by the powerful? Here are some portions of a
recent story by the Reuters news service. by Andrei KhalipThe
poison on an arrow that paralyzes a wild beast in the jungle and
a pill that can relax our tense muscles have something in common
- they both come from the curare plant discovered by Brazilian
Indians. Now, the indigenous people of Brazil want this type of
link between primitive hunting innovation and modern
pharmaceutical technology to be recognized as a property right
that could bring much-needed cash to needy tribes, some of them
on the brink of extinction. In their crusade, Brazilian
officials and Indian representatives this week will take a
declaration from a convention o