Us Envoy Says Basmati Patent Can Be Contested In Us Court

United States ambassador Richard Celeste yesterday said he expected the patent granted on basmati rice to be challenged in a court of law in the US.

Celeste did not elaborate further, but according to an analyst the statement implies that the US wants to treat the issue as a bilateral matter, unlike the patent on haldi, which had become a multilateral issue.

I was taken aback when I first heard that a Texas-based firm was granted the patent for basmati rice, Celeste said while addressing a meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. I am sure it will be challenged.

 

Celeste pointed out that local patent laws were inadequate. I believe that local businesses can compete globally in any sphere. But, it is a disadvantage when you cannot experience the tough competition outside the country due to an under-developed patent system, he said.

Celeste stressed that the economy could comfortably grow at over 7 per cent without inflation, as the country had substantial unutilised resources, especially human and natural resources.

He was also upbeat on economic reforms. Whatever the outcome of this election, the opportunity for the next government to move forward on reforms will be there, he said.

Celeste assured the gathering that US businesses will continue to offer its best values while respecting the values of domestic business.

Dwelling on child labour, he said local laws were quite strong on the issue. The difficult aspect is the reality that families are struggling to survive, he said.

According to him, the possible solutions were to increase wages for the entire work-force so that families can survive without children having to work, and to increase productivity.

In response to a point raised by Bharti Telecom chief Sunil Mittal that the US preferred China to India when it came to sourcing telecom sets, Celeste said the choice had to be determined by market forces.

In telecom, the challenge is largely of honing market skills, rather than technology or the ability to produce, he said, exhorting the gathering to begin to think in terms of going beyond your success in the domestic market.

If you want to know whether you are the best in the world, the only way is to compete in the toughest market in the world, Celeste said.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) yesterday urged the government to start consultations among government officials, trade officials and experts to evolve a strategy to fight the patent grant.

If the US fails to cancel the patent, the government should take up the matter with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement body, the statement added.