biopiracybi‧o‧pi‧ra‧cy /ˌbaɪəʊˈpaɪərəsi $ ˌbaɪoʊˈpaɪr-/ noun [uncountable]the process in which large companies try to get patents on (=legal rights to) products that make use of plants, animals,genes etc that were developed over many years by nature or by farmers, especially farmers in poorer countries