NEW DELHI, February 20: The government today acknowledged that the basmati patent taken by US agriculture firm Ricetec "was extremely broadbased and would have serious repercussions on research, development and marketing of rice".It belatedly swung into action forming an inter-ministerial group to fight the patent. The group comprises of representatives from ministries of industry, commerce, agriculture, as well as experts from Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
In its meeting yesterday, the group found that there was hardly anything novel in the new strain which warranted that it be granted a patent. Novelty is an essential element necessary for the grant of any patent.
The group will consult legal experts in order seek the best possible way of getting the patent revoked. The general view is that the patent should be fought in the US patent office rather than in the WTO. Some experts felt that stressing the geographical specificationaspect would be best way out of this impasse. The government should clearly state basmati is a term used for rice grown only in particular areas of India and Pakistan and thus no other strain could be granted the name.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
