There are a number of cases successfully fought by Indigenous groups for protecting their traditional medicinal knowledge. In 1986 an American, Loren Miller, was awarded the patent for the vine banisteriopsis caapi, the bark used to make the ceremonial drink ayauasca. In 1999, the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin, together with the Coalition for Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment successfully challenged the patent. They claimed that there was no invention since the plant has been used by the Indigenous Peoples living in the Amazon Basin for generations (Harry and Shelton, 2001: 14). Another case.
