RiceTec withdraws four claims on Basmati patent — Centre

"With this India’s export interest in the Basmati rice to US stands completely protected," he said during the hearing of a petition filed by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology which criticised India for delaying challenge to the Basmati patent in America.

However, the counsel made it clear that India was not satisfied with the withdrawal of these four claims and would go ahead with its petition before the USPTO.

Criticising the Government for filing the petition after a delay of two years, the petitioner had alleged that "even if India succeeds at USPTO, it will not prevent RiceTec from continuing to call its rice strain a `Basmati-like’ or `Basmati strain’."

Explaining the two year delay, Government had said it had formed a nodal group under Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to formulate a strategy to challenge the grant of patent to RiceTec.

Ministry of Commerce and Industry in its affidavit had said the primary claim of RiceTec in the patent related to the capacity to grow a particular strain of rice in US and Mexico using what was claimed to be their developed rice seed.

"This claim does not, in any manner, affect any Indian interest as such," the Government said and added "various other claims as to the characteristics of the rice which would be produced utilising RiceTec’s rice seed have also been made which again do not affect Indian commercial interest".

The Centre today said it would not allow any attempts to misappropriate the rights of India over Basmati.

"India’s prized geographical indications and intellectual property rights are not up for grabs," it said.