Ngo Moves Supreme Court On Basmati Patent Issue

The Supreme Court has been petitioned by a non-government organisation (NGO) to direct the government to challenge in the US courts a patent given to a Texan-based company for basmati rice, or move the dispute settlement body (DSB) of the world trade organisation (WTO) on the issue.

In a writ filed on March 5, the petitioner, the Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology, also urged the apex court to direct the government to protect the countrys bio-diversity in conformity with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other such conventions to protect bio-diversity.

Stating that the government had not enacted any legislation to protect bio-diversity, the Foundation, headed by noted ecologist Dr Vandana Shiva, urged the court to issue directions to the government to lay down guidelines to protect the life and livelihood of the people till a suitable legislation was brought into force.

 

The patent given for basmati rice by the US patent office to Ricetec Inc Co was in violation of the sovereign rights of the country, which included the indigenous and inherent knowledge systems of the people of which farmers were a part, the Foundation said.

Basmati has been grown by traditional methods by Indian farmers, who have developed various varieties that are being exported apart from being consumed domestically.

In view of this, the government has to protect the sovereignty and inherent rights of the people by taking action against the Texan company, which was permissible under law, the petitioner contended.

The governments inaction has led to lack of suitable legislation to make the countrys traditional food security system, grains and medicinal plants part of the bio-diversity under the sui generis options of Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) in accordance with the Convention of Biological Diversity, the petitioner said.

Speaking of Article 27.3(b) under TRIPs, the petitioner said it paved the way for WTO members to exclude from patentability, plants and animals other than micro-organisms and essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals other than non-biological and micro-biological processes.

However, the members could provide for the protection of plant varieties either by patents of an effective sui generis system, or any other combination, the Foundation said, adding that the Rome declaration on World Food Security had recognised that environment and bio-diversity of countries had to be protected as it was their sovereign and inherent right.