MUMBAI: Lal dant manjan may make many Indians remember the old Dabur commercial featuring a schoolboy named Raju and his Masterji. But lal dant manjan, or ‘ red herbal dentifrice ’, is now patented in the US by Colgate Palmolive, and Indian ayurvedic companies have sought government intervention to cancel it.The Association of Manufacturers of Ayurvedic Medicines (Amam), which represents 200 companies including Dabur, Himalaya Hamdard and Baidyanath , has accused the American personal care giant of patenting an Indian traditional knowledge in the US, India and elsewhere.It has urged the patent authority, the health ministry as well as the industrial ministry to take immediate measures to stop patenting of this traditional product and “initiate action not only in the US but also in other countries where Colgate Palmolive might have applied for the patent”.Colgate received patent for red herbal dentifrice in the United States in June this year on the basis of an application dated 2005, filed in India.The company did not respond to an email query.“Colgate has used its clout to obtain patent in the US. But the Indian government should seek withdrawal the US patent and cancel the Indian application too as the product is a traditional herbal medicine discovered in India,” said Pradeep Multani, general secretary of the association.The Controller General of Patents, which grants patents in India, has yet to decide on Colgate’s application. “In the US, getting patents is far more simple compared to India,” said Abhishek Khare, partner at Khare Legal Chambers.In India, a patent is granted only after a detailed investigation, or ‘examination report’. “However, in the US, there are generally post-grant objections,” said Mr Khare.In fact, the US and the European Union have cancelled patents on turmeric and neem following opposition from India.In 1995, the US granted a patent for turmeric to two non-resident Indians associated with the University of Mississipi Medical Centre, Jackson, USA. New Delhi-based Council for Agriculture Research challenged the patent on the ground that it lacked novelty and the US Patent Office upheld the objection and cancelled the patent.Similarly, the European Patent Office awarded a patent for Neem to the United States Department of Agriculture and chemical multinational WR Grace in 1995. This patent was withdrawn in 2005 due to severe opposition from various parties in India.In its patent application for lal dant manjan, Colgate included several medicinal plants such as piper nigrum, piper longum, camphor, tomar seed, terminalia chebula, clove, cinnamon, vajradanti among other herbs in the patent.Amam has challenged this in its letter to the Indian health ministry, the Controller General of Patents and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, which is responsible for policies on intellectual property rights, patents and trademarks.“Several companies like Dabur and Baidyanath have been marketing this product since decades in India,” it said in the letter.Dabur India, which has been selling Dabur Lal Dant Manjan since 1970, declined to comment, but some people close to the company said it is exploring legal actions against Colgate.Colgate Palmolive, which controls half the oral care segment worth Rs 2,800 crore in India, is synonymous with toothpaste in India. Of late, it has been gradually pushing more affordable products such as toothpowder to penetrate into rural areas and reach out to a larger consumer base.While the oral care category is growing by around 8-10%, the toothpowder segment worth Rs 500 crore offers huge potential as rural India, which houses 70% of Indian population, joins the India growth story and yet remains a largely unexplored market. Penetration of modern oral care products is very low and many people in rural India still clean their teeth with traditional products like twigs of the neem tree, salt, ash, and other herbal items.That’s precisely the opportunity that Colgate seeks to tap in a market where it still shares the top spot with rival Dabur, both having 30% share in the hinterland.“If Colgate manages to get the patent, it will have an added advantage to expand in this category,” said Anand Raghuraman, partner and director at Boston Consulting Group.