• Patent was granted to an American company, W.R. Grace & Co, for a neem-based insecticide. The patent concerns extraction of stable compounds that deter insects from eating plants.
• 'Novelty' immediately questioned.
• A hearing at the European Patent Office in 2000 established that the European patent (EP0436257) was invalid, because the use of hydrophobic elements in neem, for pest control, was already known in India. The patent was revoked. However, the patent issued by the United States Patent Office in 1992 remains valid.
• Spurred the Indian government and other countries to take a much more proactive approach to recording TK.   In India itself, numerous patents have been granted on specific aspects relating to use of neem.