Biopiracy; The False Innovation: The Epistemological Lens

The commentary critically examines the Intellectual Property Rights from its epistemological framework. It explores how the definitions of ‘innovation’ and ‘creativity’ that are adopted across the world by IPR regimes, are such that they not only permit but also encourage the exploitation of knowledge and resources in the public domain, leading to economic and moral failures. The author especially engages with ethical considerations of patenting living organisms and biological processes. The author takes support from the analysis of Dr. Vandana Shiva to state that innovation should not be commercially defined. It is the author’s argument that the guarantee of profit is not the driving factor of human creativity. Through an epistemological lens, it is the author’s objective to bring forth the failures of existing theories in IPR law and their hazardous impact on public interest.