IR

Win for farmers as India revokes PepsiCo’s patent on FL-2027 potato variety

·         History – PepsiCo, a multi-million-dollar conglomerate, had sued Gujarati farmers asking them to pay ₹1.05 large integer every for alleged violation of intellectual property Rights.

·         The company has aforesaid that farmers infringed its patent rights by growing the potato selection utilized in its product known as as Lays chips.

·         PepsiCo has invoked Section sixty four of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 to say infringement of its rights.

·         The section prohibits anyone apart from the stock breeder of seeds or a registered licencee of that selection to sell, export, import or produces such selection.

·         The farmers were allegedly growing a range of potato particularly FL 2027, conjointly known as FC5, on that PepsiCo claimed exclusive rights by virtue of a Plant selection Certificate (PVC).

·         However, farmers teams have said that section thirty-nine of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 permits farmers to grow and sell any kind of crop or maybe seed as long as they don’t sell branded seed of registered varieties.

·         Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 Enacted by India in 2001 adopting sui generis system.

·         It is in conformity with International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), 1978.

·         The aim of the act is that the institution of an efficient system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of latest forms of plant.

·         The act additionally establishes Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority underneath the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

·         The major operate of Authority includes Registration of latest plant varieties; Documentation of varieties registered; Preservation of plant genetic resource; Maintenance of the National Register of Plant Varieties and Maintenance of National sequence Bank (for preserving seeds of registered varieties).

·         The legislation acknowledges the contributions of each business plant breeders and farmers in plant breeding activity and conjointly provides to implement visits during a method that supports the particular socio-economic interests of all the stakeholders together with personal, public sectors and analysis establishments, as well as resource-constrained farmers.

·         Rights under the Act Breeders’ Rights: Breeders (Seed Producers) can have exclusive rights to provide, sell, market, distribute, import or export the protected selection.

·         A stock breeder will exercise for civil remedy just in case of infringement of rights investigators’ Rights: Researcher will use any of the registered selection underneath the Act for conducting an experiment or analysis.

·         Researchers can use the initial source of variety for the purpose of developing another variety but repeated use needs the prior permission of the registered breeder.

·         Farmers’ Rights: A farmer who has evolved or developed a new selection is entitled to registration and protection in like manner as a stock breeder of a spread. A farmer can save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001 However, the farmer shall not be entitled to sell branded seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001. . theres conjointly a provision for compensation to the farmers for non-performance of selection. The farmer shall not be at risk of pay any fee in any continuing before the Authority or Registrar or the tribunal or the supreme court under the Act. Farmers are eligible for recognition and rewards for the conservation of Plant Genetic Resources of land races and wild relatives of economic plants. International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is an intergovernmental organization with headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland). UPOV was established by the International Convention for the Protection of latest varieties of Plants. The Convention was adopted in Paris in 1961 and it absolutely was revised in 1972, 1978 and 1991. UPOV’s mission is to produce and promote an efficient system of plant varirty protection, with the aim of encouraging the event of latest varieties of plants, for the good thing about society. The UPOV Convention provides the premise for members to encourage plant breeding by granting breeders of latest plant varieties an intellectual property right: the breeder’s right. within the case of a range protected by a breeder’s right, the authorization of the stock breeder is needed to propagate the variety for business purposes. The breeder’s right is granted by the individual UPOV member only the breeder of a brand new plant selection will protect that new plant selection. its not allowable for somebody apart from the breeder to get protection of a variety. There arent any restrictions on who will be thought of to be a {breeder|stock breeder|stockman|stock raiser|stock farmer} underneath the UPOV system: a breeder could be a personal, a farmer, a research worker, a public institute, a private company etc. India isnt a member.