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India is fighting 40 basmati patent cases in 25 countries

Lola Nayar in New Delhi

India may claim to have won a major legal battle against the Texas, US-based RiceTec Inc on the issue of patenting basmati, but it still faces 40 other cases on the subject in about 25 countries.

These cases range from exclusive claim over the basmati trademark to infringement on the geographical indication of the aromatic rice, according to the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority.

The countries include Brazil, Chile, Greece, Britain, South Africa, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Turkey Kuwait and Taiwan, officials of the Union commerce ministry-promoted authority said.

They explained that efforts to fight the cases is being financed by the Basmati Development Fund set up under the All India Rice Exporters' Association, which has been collecting Rs 50 for every tonne of rice exported out of India.

The government has also been getting the assistance of Trade Mark Watch Agency that keeps track of any new trademark application for basmati rice or its deceptive variations filed overseas, they added.

APEDA chairman Anil Swarup said that even though the number of cases were large, India has been able to win 15 cases it has fought in the past in countries like Britain, Australia, France, Spain, Chile and the UAE.

In Spain, APEDA has been able to get the basmati trademark registered as aromatic rice grown in the subcontinent, which will bar its use for all products in the foods category.

In Brazil, too, the New Delhi-based authority was successful in getting an application for the registration of basmati as a trademark for sweets and condiments rejected.

Swarup said India has won major victories against RiceTec in two other countries - Greece and Britain.

The US food technology company had filed for a registering 'Texmati', 'Kasmati' and 'Jasmati' as trademarks in Greece, while in Britain, it had wanted to register 'Texmati' as a trademark.

He said in both these countries, India was able to get the food technology corporation's application rejected on the ground that all these names were deceptively similar to basmati, which is an aromatic rice grown in north India and some parts of Pakistan.

The APEDA official said that efforts were on to strengthen India's case in other countries by classifying basmati varieties in terms of geographical indication.

The DNA string of eleven traditional basmati varieties has been identified and codified as per their unique physical properties, which will help the authorities to register them in the geographical indication registry.

"On the basis of geographical indication we would be able to clearly define a geographical area and claim exclusiveness of a variety on the basis of agro-climatic conditions in that area," Swarup said.

Indo-Asian News Service

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