Patents panel constituted

KOCHI, March 13: A patent rights row over piperine, an extract from black pepper fruits, has shaken the spices board and the country8217;s spices exporters leading to a decision to launch a global offensive to prempt such attemtps by Western countries.

The row was triggered by a legal notice issued recently by a US company claiming patent rights over quot;piperinequot; which is used for value addition in oleoresins, and is a major forex spinner. The spices board has taken up the matter seriously and a committee headed by A G Mathew, former director of the CSIR, Thiruvananthapuram, has been constituted at an emergency meeting here to chalk out an action plan to ward off such threats against Indian spices and related products in future.