The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and IP Australia have entered into an agreement on access to CSIR’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) during the 3rd India-Australia Annual Summit held in Melbourne, Australia, on July 9, 2026. The agreement was concluded in the presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister, Australia.

The TKDL Access Agreement is one of the 18 key outcomes of the bilateral discussions held during the Summit, which covered a wide range of areas including skill development, science and technology, traditional knowledge, and repatriation of cultural properties.

TKDL, a first-of-its-kind prior art database, has been developed by India to prevent the misappropriation of its rich traditional knowledge through the erroneous grant of patents. Under the Agreement, IP Australia will gain access to the TKDL database to identify relevant prior art while examining patent applications in accordance with Australia's patent laws and examination procedures. The agreement will facilitate more informed and efficient patent examination while helping prevent the grant of patents on knowledge that is already part of India's documented traditional heritage.