MUMBAI, February 15: Both exporters and industry have been stumped by US company Ricetec Inc's moves to patent basmati rice. Though the US patent (No 5663484) granted to Ricetec is essentially a process patent for a new method of breeding basmati and for inventing a new way of determining the cooking and starch properties of the rice, Indian exporters of basmati are worried.The US patent does not specifically allow Ricetec's rice to be sold as basmati, but that is a battle still to be won for Indian exporters of basmati. Ricetec already sells rice under the brandnames of Texmati, Kasmati and Jasmati--and calls them long-grain basmati rice.
The Indian government and exporters contend that no patent or trademark on the basmati name can be obtained in the US as "basmati" denotes a specific variety of rice grown in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh apart from some areas of Pakistan.
The government has set up a high level inter-ministerial group to protect the interests of Indian exporters. The groupincludes representatives of the ministries of industry, commerce, external affairs, agriculture, biotechnology, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Agriculture, Indian Council for Agricultural Research and the Agro Products Export Development Authority.
Industry is waiting for the government to act. The All India Rice Exporters Association will formulate its strategy soon. The association is in the process of consulting with patent attorneys and agricultural scientists. "We will have to fight it out to ensure that we do not lose our status. Our detailed strategy will be decided after the government files a formal objection in the US," says Anil Adlakha, executive director, AIREA.
About 65 per cent of India's rice exports are to the Middle East countries, hence the impact of the patent in the US is unlikely to be severe in the short-term. But this can be no excuse for Indian exporters to accept the "grossly unfair play" by a US company. "Though there may not be any immediate loss on thebasmati rice dispute, the psychological impact it will have on industry and trade is enormous," says JP Agarwal of APC Exports.
Rice exporters say that rice grown in the US can in no way compare with the produce of India and Pakistan where good quality grains give a superior aroma. On account of its poor quality the US company can offer a price advantage while peddling poor quality, Indian exporters feel.
Vijay Sardana, secretary of the Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry, says that there is a need for the government to strengthen its department dealing with the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs). "The government must set up an effective task force to carry on the legal battle. The existing government structure is not capable of handling such technical issues like IPRs and similar international trade issues," he adds. According to Sardana, the controversy over basmati rice is only the beginning. "As countries become more aggressive at the World Trade Organisation, such IPRissues will become an everyday affair," he said.
Meanwhile, legal firms handling Indian government cases have gone on record as expressing confidence that India stands a good chance of winning the present case. They are of the opinion that unlike India, in the US no prior publicity is given on receiving a patent application. Patents are given almost secretively there and aggrieved parties then get engaged in legal battles. The same thing, they say, had happened in the case of turmeric which was patented in the US as a wound healing substance but it was reversed after the CSIR fought it out in the US.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
