India–Brazil deal to shield traditional knowledge from patent theft

The agreement was exchanged on February 21 in the presence of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

President Lula is on a State Visit to India from February 18–22, 2026, to attend the India AI Impact Summit 2026 and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi.

Both leaders welcomed the exchange of the TKDL Access Agreement between INPI and CSIR, describing it as a significant step toward strengthening bilateral cooperation in the fields of traditional knowledge (TK) and intellectual property rights (IPR).

The agreement was formally exchanged by Márcio Fernando Elias Rosa, Deputy Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services of Brazil, and Shri Periasamy Kumaran, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

Under the arrangement, the Brazilian Patent Office will gain access to the TKDL database for use during patent examination and grant procedures. The TKDL functions as a critical tool to prevent the misappropriation and erroneous patenting of Indian traditional knowledge.

The signing of the agreement marks the beginning of a new partnership aimed at strengthening India’s global efforts to curb biopiracy and protect traditional knowledge. At the same time, it is expected to support Brazil in enhancing the quality and efficiency of its patent examination system by enabling better assessment of novelty and prior art.

The agreement will be implemented under the guidance of Júlio César Moreira, President of INPI; Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General of CSIR and Secretary, DSIR; and Dr. Viswajanani J. Sattigeri, Scientist-H and Head of the CSIR-TKDL Unit.