Background

The San

The San are the indigenous people of Southern Africa.  Though at one time they were estimated to number up to 300,000 throughout southern Africa, today there are less than 100,000 San living mainly across Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Angola.  A nomadic people who still live significantly by hunting and gathering, they remain one of the region’s most impoverished and marginalised populations.

Intellectual property in the Hoodia plant

For thousands of years the San have been sustained in their journeys across the Kalahari Desert by the Hoodia plant, which contains a naturally occurring appetite-suppressing property.  This property is of incalculable value to the global slimming industry.

In 2001 the San discovered that it had been acquired and patented by the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) without their knowledge, in order to produce a weight loss drug. After negotiations with the San, the CSIR acknowledged the San's prior Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the Hoodia plant. The Hoodia is now scheduled to CITES.

Benefit-sharing

In recent years, a series of historic legal agreements have been reached between the San and those companies and institutions who use the Hoodia for commercial purposes, which reflect the San’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).  The San have negotiated a 6% share in future royalty income from Hoodia patents, should products be commercially produced. They have set up the Hoodia Trust in order to collect and distribute this revenue amongst all the San, regardless of whether they live in a Hoodia growing region or not. This benefit-sharing agreement is of great significance as it is one of the first to give royalties to the holders of traditional knowledge used for drug sales. 

Legal issues

However, policy and practical problems abound, requiring urgent legal assistance.  The San have yet to profit from any agreements, and while world trading in Hoodia is estimated at billions of dollars, the San have received a mere $60,000 in recompense.  Illegal international producers of Hoodia are ruining the San’s share of the market, but the San do not currently have the legal capacity to assert their rights.

Protimos has been approached for support by Roger Chennells, a South African attorney of Chennells Albertyn, who until now has been the only practising lawyer acting for the San on these issues. We propose to advance our work in partnership with the San, to ensure that IPRs in the Hoodia plant belonging to the San are asserted and protected by law, thus securing a substantial and sustainable income for their future.

Read more about what we are doing on the project.