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September 3, 2001
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Money > Business Headlines > Report September 3, 2001 |
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Watch out for Basmati, coffee, tea and ice-creamsSidhartha & Mamata Singh Rice Tec is not the only threat to the Indian Basmati. An application to register 'Al-Sado Pure Basmati Rice' has been filed in Kuwait this year. The company which intends to use the trademark would, however, not only sell rice, but also coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, tapioca and sago under the brand. The case in Kuwait is just one of the three filed this year. A German firm has also filed for a trademark on rice and import-export agencies as has an Israeli company for rice and rice flour. Basmati and similar sounding names are proposed to be used for products ranging from sweets and powders, ice-creams, fruits, greens and cereals and even ancillary services relating to commerce of goods. Of the 33 patent cases involving Basmati and similar sounding names being contested by India, 13 relate to products other than rice. Trademark cases against Basmati are registered in countries including Pakistan, Australia, Columbia, Benelux, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, Israel, Poland, UK and the US. "Of the 24 countries against whom trademark cases are being fought on Basmati, India has already won 15. In nine other cases, it is likely to win fairly soon," says RA Mashelkar, director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the organisation which also challenged the turmeric patent. Vigilance is important and challenging patents is not a very expensive proposition. "The CSIR spent only around $10,000 to fight the turmeric case. Filing for re-examination of a patent is not very exorbitant. Also, with the geographical indications rules expected to be in place fairly soon, India will also be able to protect its 'Kanjeevaram' sarees, 'Kohlapuri' chappals and 'Alphonso' mangoes, Mashelkar adds. The government has recently appointed Trademark Directory Services, London, to search international patent databases for patents and trademarks of interest to India. "This helps us in tracking any attempts at pirating its intellectual property, says Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) chairman Anil Swarup. India has succeeded in forcing Rice Tec Inc, a Texas-based company, which had obtained a patent for 'Basmati rice lines and grains' to withdraw certain claims in its US patent which were challenged by the government through Apeda. Rice Tec Inc had claimed that the rice grains produced by it had unique characteristics. APEDA's request for re-examination to the US Patent Office included evidence that Basmati rice grains were being produced in India long before the date of the patent and had the characteristics which were now being claimed as unique by Rice Tec Inc. Powered by YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
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