1. Third Party Observations under article 115 of EPC

TKDL third party submission under Article 115 EPC brought to the notice of examination division the prior art references on the use of Vitex negundo (Chaste tree ) for the treatment of Arthritis, Rheumatism,Osteoarthritis, Inflammation, Joint pain and as an Anti oxidant from the books – Athmarakshaamirtham by Kandasamy Mudaliar (Siddha, Exhibit 1), Al-Jaame'-li-Mufradaat-al-Advia-wal-Aghzia,Vol. IV by Ziya Al- Din Abdullah Ibn Al- Baitar; (Unani, Exhibit 2), Al-Jaam'e-li-Mufradaat-al-Advia-wal-Aghzia, Vol. I by Ziya Al- Din Abdullah Ibn Al- Baitar (Unani, Exhibit 3), Bharata Bhaisajya Ratnakara -Compiled by Naginadasa Chaganalala Saha ,Translated by Gopinath Gupta - Vol.-I (Ayurveda, Exhibit 4), Vangasena by Vangasena (Ayurveda, Exhibit 5) and Bhaisajya Ratnavali by Govinda Dasa (Ayurveda, Exhibit 6). Examination took cognizance of TKDL references.

2. Relevant Extract of EPO Examination report

EPO Patent Examiner(s) took cognizance of TKDL references. Extract of examination report at Para 5 are reproduced below:

“Further to this, a third party’s observation has been filed with letter of 12/04/2010 relying on several references from the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) considered prejudicial to the subject-matter of the present application.”

Full examination report can be referred at EP2124983.pdf

3. Outcomes of Third Party Observations & Examination Report

As the outcome of TKDL third party and other documents cited in examination report Applicant M/s SWAMINATHAN S, Dean, Sponsored Research and Director, Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced, Biomaterials (CeNTAB), Sastra University  Thanjavur 613 402 / India, decided not to reply to Written Opinion of his 3.5 years old application filed on 18.01.2008. Application was deemed to be withdrawn on 08.07.2011 and closed on 24.10.2011.