On July 9, 2026, during the third India-Australia Annual Summit in Melbourne, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and IP Australia signed an agreement to provide access to the CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese.
The TKDL access agreement is one of the eighteen key outcomes of the bilateral talks held during the summit. These discussions covered a wide range of subjects, including defense and security, energy security, education, skill development, science and technology, film production, traditional knowledge, and the repatriation of cultural assets.
Under this agreement, IP Australia will use India’s ‘Traditional Knowledge Digital Library’ (TKDL) to identify traditional knowledge during the patent examination process. This will enable a more effective assessment of patent applications and help prevent the granting of patents on India’s documented traditional knowledge.
India and Australia share rich traditions of traditional knowledge. This agreement reflects their joint commitment to strengthening intellectual property systems through the protection of traditional knowledge and the use of prior art.
The implementation of this agreement will be overseen by Mr. Andrew Wilkinson, Commissioner of Patents at IP Australia; Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General of CSIR and Secretary of DSIR; and Dr. Vishwajanani J. Sattigeri, Head of the CSIR-TKDL Unit and Scientist-H.
About TKDL- Launched in 2001 by the CSIR and the Ministry of AYUSH, the ‘Traditional Knowledge Digital Library’ (CSIR-TKDL) is the world’s first database designed to protect traditional knowledge against erroneous patent claims. It contains over 5.2 lakh formulations from Indian traditional systems, translated into five international languages. Following the inclusion of IP Australia, the TKDL database is now accessible to 18 patent offices and has helped address more than 375 patent applications globally.
(PIB)
