INDIA’S DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION FRAMEWORK AND THE STRUCTURAL LIMITS OF ABS PATENT LAW GOVERNANCE Drishti Banerjee

INDIA’S DIGITAL SEQUENCE INFORMATION FRAMEWORK AND THE STRUCTURAL LIMITS OF ABS-PATENT LAW GOVERNANCE

India attempted to regulate Digital Sequence Information (DSI) through the Biological Diversity Regulations, 2025. This marks a significant expansion of access and benefit sharing (ABS) governance into the digital space. This paper argues that although the regulation architecture is ambitious and first of its kind to regulate biodiversity globally, they rest on an unstable legal foundation. It raises concerns regarding ultra vires exercise of delegated legislation, as the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (as amended in 2023) does not explicitly recognise DSI within its definition of “biological resources” or “derivatives.” Further, the system operates only at the point of access. Downstream users, especially situated outside Indian jurisdiction, are exempted from any access and benefit-sharing obligation. More importantly, the interface between ABS and patent law collapses in the context of DSI. The corresponding provisions in the Patent Act, 1970 (as amended) do not mandate disclosure of sequence origin. India’s model operates alongside fragmented international approaches, including revenue-based and commons-based systems. This results in uncoordinated and overlapping claims over the same value chain of DSI. The main problem with DSI regulation is that a material-based architecture has been imposed on intangible, data-driven innovation systems. This research primarily explores the structural tensions within biodiversity law to govern non-rival informational assets. Ultimately, it suggests that appropriate statutory amendments would be required to make the system coherent with the broader governance architecture. In particular, a proper legal definition of digital sequence information is required, along with proper alignment with global multilateral mechanisms like the Cali Fund.

Keywords: Digital Sequence Information (DSI); Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS); Biological Diversity Act, 2002; Biological Diversity Regulations, 2025; Delegated Legislation; Data-Driven Innovation