Source: www.delhihighcourt.nic.in
Justices S Ravindra Bhat
and Yogesh Khanna of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court (DHC) recently passed an
order dismissing Monsanto’s plea by stating that its patent for Bt cotton seeds
was not valid under Section 3(j) of the Indian Patents Act which recites that plants and animals in whole or any part
thereof other than micro-organisms but including seeds, varieties and species
and essentially biological processes for production or propagation of plants
and animals are not patentable.
The
Hon’ble court further clarified that Monsanto Technologies’ patents on
Bt cotton seed varieties Bollgard and Bollgard II were not valid and rejected
its claims against Nuziveedu Seeds on this count.
Prior to the above
decision, Monsanto was given three months to appeal to the Protection of Plant
Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority for relief under the Protection of
Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act. Regarding the same, the court heard a set
of appeals filed by Monsanto and Nuziveedu along with the latter’s group companies
including Prabhati Agri Biotech and Pravardhan Seeds.
According to the
recently published news with Economic Times, a few government organizations after
hearing the order said that they would write to the Department of Agriculture
to immediately scrap trait fee on Bollgard II cotton seeds.[1] One of the spokesperson
from these organizations also declared that plant varieties and seeds can’t be
patented will protect the rights of farmers and ensure the country’s food
security.
A Colossal Setback for Monsanto
Running for an answer on
the order passed, Monsanto’s lawyer disappointed with the order revealed that
the company will approach Supreme Court in the next 30 days with a certificate of appeal granted by the
court. Before making the above statement, the Monsanto lawyer had asked the
court to hold the order in abeyance for three months during which it could seek
remedies, however the court did not accede to this.
Further, with respect to
the suit for infringement between Monsanto and Nuziveedu Seeds related to trait
fees, the court affirmed that Monsanto’s claim was not maintainable as the patents
were invalid. However, the suit can proceed for claim of damages since
there was a sub-license agreement for a period of 10 years between the parties.
Earlier, the single judge had said the Indian companies would have to pay trait
fees to Monsanto, in line with government-set rates.
Outcomes
The order passed by DHC is in
favor of the Indian cotton farmers as there will no IPR protection,
particularly patents for plant varieties and seeds, however
the decision shall bypass to bring best technologies by global companies in
India where agricultural innovation are still in the pipeline, if there is no
protection to plant variety and seeds.
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