this is great news! thanx for posting this, brad. do you
have a URL for it?
smh
Tue, 28 Aug 2001 found { brad brace } writing:
>> From: APFEJ <sobacineATsri.lanka.net>
>>
>> RICETEC LOSES IN THE BASMATI BATTLE
>>
>> RiceTec Inc. a Texas-based US corporation has lost the Basmati Battle.
>>
>> RiceTec had made 20 far-reaching claims related to Basmati in Patent No.
>> 5663484. As a result of a Supreme Court case filed by the Research
>> Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, the Government of India
>> challenged 3 claims related to rice grain (No.s 15-17) in April 2000.
>> RiceTec had given up 4 claims. However, the claims related to seed had not
>> been challenged. The re-examination request filed in the USPTO by the
>> Government was done in the name of Agricultural and Processed Food Products
>> Export Development Authority (APEDA) and no challenge was made to the
>> remaining claims, thereby totally sidelining the issue of protection of
>> farmer rights. The Government of India through the APEDA focussed only on
>> protecting traders' interests which are linked to grain, but not farmers
>> rights which are linked to seeds.
>>
>> The Research Foundation had continued its campaign for the defense of
>> farmers' rights and basmati seed. It continued to call for the cancellation
>> of false claims to invention related to Basmati lines. Citizens across the
>> world had been mobilised to defend farmers' rights. As a result of citizens
>> pressure the US Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) has cancelled claims
>> 1-3, 5-7, 10, 14, 18-20 which were not challenged by the Government of
>> India though they are extremely broad in scope and had the potential to
>> undermine the rights of farmers growing.
>>
>> The Patent Examiner has also changed the title of the patent from "Basmati
>> Rice Lines and Grains" - covering a broad generic claim to invention of
>> Basmati, to invention of Basmati to "Rice Lines Bas867, RT 1117, RT1121"
>> which are restricted to the specific breeding done by RiceTec and not
>> open-ended as the original patent was, which covered wide ranges of plant
>> height, grain size, aromatic quality including the qualities of our
>> traditional Basmati. The patent holder now cannot claim the unique
>> qualities of our Basmati nor the unique name "Basmati".
>>
>> The surviving claims 8, 9, 11, 12 &13 are narrow and related only to the
>> varieties actually bred by RiceTec. These claims are "deemed free of prior
>> art". The cancellation of other claims now prevents the potential use of
>> the Basmati patent against growing traditional Basmati.
>>
>> The Research Foundation's Campaign Against Basmati Biopiracy" was based on
>> three injustices inherent in the original Basmati patent:
>> 1. ignoring of traditional breeding by farmers
>> 2. giving a broad-based patent to RiceTec which covered the traditional
>> Basmati varieties in its scope
>> 3. hence undermining farmers' rights both by negating farmers breeding and
>> by allowing the establishment of a monopoly which could prevent growers of
>> traditional Basmati from free use of their own seed.
>> On each of these 3 counts, we have won the Basmati Battle.
>>
>> The media reports that RiceTec has won the appeal that have appeared in the
>> Indian national dailies "The Indian Express" and "The Hindustan Times" are
>> false.
>>
>> RiceTec has been forced to give up the title of its patent, it has been
>> forced to give up 15 of its 20 claims, including those with the most
>> far-reaching implications related to biopiracy.
>>
>> This is a victory for India, not RiceTec and it is a victory which was
>> fought for only partially by the Government. The global citizen's Campaign
>> Against Biopiracy which was successful in getting the Neem Patent cancelled
>> has also succeeded in having the false and far-reaching claims in the
>> Basmati case cancelled. The Basmati Battle has been won by us. The patent
>> on rice and patent on seed battle is still to be won.
>>
>> The surviving claims now need to be challenged as part of the larger
>> movement against patents on life and patents on rice. The campaign against
>> patent on rice is now being launched by the Research Foundation against
>> patents held by Monsanto and Novartis, including patents on "Golden Rice".
>>
>> by
>>
>> Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology
>> A-60 Hauz Khas
>> New Delhi - 110016
>> India
>>
>> AND
>>
>> International Center for Technology Assessment
>> 310 D Street NE
>> Washington, DC 20002
>> USA
>
>
>
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