India and Australia have signed a significant agreement granting IP Australia access to India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) during the 3rd India-Australia Annual Summit held in Melbourne on July 9, 2026. The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, representing one of eighteen key outcomes from bilateral discussions covering defense, security, energy, education, and traditional knowledge.
The CSIR-TKDL, established in 2001 through collaboration between CSIR and the Ministry of AYUSH, is the world's first database dedicated to defensive protection of traditional knowledge, containing information on over 5.2 lakh formulations and practices from Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and Yoga. The database has been translated into five international languages (English, German, French, Japanese, and Spanish) for global patent examiners' use.
Under the agreement, IP Australia will access the TKDL database to identify relevant prior art during patent examination processes according to Australian patent laws and procedures. This access will facilitate more informed and efficient patent examination while preventing grants of patents based on India's documented traditional heritage. The implementation will be overseen by Andrew Wilkinson (Commissioner of Patents, IP Australia), Dr. N. Kalaiselvi (Director General, CSIR and Secretary, DSIR), and Dr. Viswajanani J. Sattigeri (Scientist-H and Head, CSIR-TKDL Unit).
With this agreement, eighteen patent offices worldwide now have access to the TKDL database under Non-Disclosure Agreements. The database has already contributed to more than 375 patent applications being revoked, rejected, amended, withdrawn, or abandoned globally based on prior art evidence from TKDL.