Basmati rice was developed by Indian
farmers over hundreds of years, but in September 1997 a Texas-based
company, RiceTec Inc., won a controversial US patent for a cross-breed
with American long-grain rice. This company was granted a patent to call
the aromatic rice grown outside India `Basmati'. RiceTec was granted the
patent on the basis of aroma, elongation of the grain on cooking and
chalkiness. Many have felt that the patent should not be granted since
basmati is Indian property. India contested the patent for Basmati rice
acquired by Rice Tec Inc, which had been challenged by the Agriculture
and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). The US
Patent and Trademarks office accepted the petition and had re-examined
its legitimacy.
Contrary to misinformation in some sections of the media, India did not
lose the Basmati Patent Challenge. India has actually won and not lost
the Basmati patent battle. In its original patent on 'Basmati rice lines
and grains' - granted by the USPTO on September 2, 1997 - Rice Tec had
made as many as 20 claims. Extensive documentation was submitted to
establish that the various Basmati varieties cultivated over the
centuries in the subcontinent contained all the 'novel' grain attributes
mentioned in the patent. As a result of a worldwide citizen campaign
against RiceTec Basmati patents, on Aug 14th 2001 the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office struck down large sections of the Basmati patent. In
other words, the withdrawal of the grain-specific claims ensured that
Rice Tec would not be able to block the country's Basmati rice export to
US; it could, however, produce 'similar or superior grains' outside
India.
