The controversy over the propriety of use of the trademark, 'Jeevani', a herbal compound originally developed by the TBGRI, for commercial use outside India once again erupted with the Great Earth Companies Inc of the US started marketing 'Jeevani Jolt 1000' in the US market. Great Earth reportedly applied for the trademark in December 2000 and USPTO granted the same in March 2002. The ingredients mentioned in the label of 'Jeevani Jolt 1000' are same as in the original 'Jeevani' including 'aarogyapacha'. It was the New York based Nutrisciences Innovations LLC first attempted to obtain the trademark but the company withdrew its claim following an uproar over the issue in India. Today 'Jeevani' is used as an active ingredient in several herbal products marketed in the US by a number of companies. What is being objected by the scientific community now is the use of the term 'Jeevani' as part of the trademark and also listing it as a major ingredient on the label of 'Jeevani Jolt 1000' by Great Earth. 'Jeevani' was developed by the scientists led by Dr P. Pushpangadan, the then director of TBGRI taking lead from Kani tribal community of the western ghats. TBGRI had assured the Kanis then to share the licence fee and royalty on a 1:1 basis and thereby India becoming the first country to recognize the intellectual property rights of a tribal community as per the Article 8(j) of the UN Convention of Biological Diversity. This model of benefit sharing was widely appreciated world over and is known as TBGRI model. Unfortunately that goal did not materialise as TBGRI failed to protect the IPR of 'Jeevani' ever since it was invented a decade ago. What ulterior motive that had prevailed upon on the TBGRI scientists to not to pursue IPR protection of 'Jeevani' is still not clear and the government did not even bother to inquire. With the result, the herbal compound does not have a global patent and what it had was an Indian process patent which also expired sometime back. The attempts by the US MNCs to freely commercialise the 'Jeevani' trademark and its composition in the world's largest pharmaceutical market is a result of the inaction by TBGRI and the commerce ministry. What India is losing, in the process, is billions of dollars. It will not be late even now for the government to move an international patent application for 'Jeevani' under the Patent Cooperation Treaty administered by WIPO. Let that be an initiative of a movement to reclaim IPR of 'Jeevani' besides protecting the invention from being further exploited by other countries. After all no one can deny the fact that the product is a joint invention by Indian scientists and the Kani tribe.