How judgment could affect farm sector

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court ruling that Monsanto can claim patents on its genetically modified (GM) Bollgard-II Bt cotton seed technology that resists the bollworm pest is likely to aggravate the agrarian crisis in India, activists said.

Some cotton-growing farmer groups, however, say it won’t change the situation as domestic seed companies are as much to blame for rising prices. Monsanto, a US company, is the world’s biggest seed-maker.

Intellectual property rights experts say the judgment should be viewed with caution. “The case has gone back to the trial court. Yes, the Supreme Court has restored the injunction, so Monsanto wins for the time being. But we will have to wait and see. The trial court has to do a determination of the patent claim, which is very complex. The technology also needs to be assessed,” said Shamnad Basheer, founder of the website SpicyIP, and former chair professor of intellectual property law at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh which is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said the Centre should review the Patents Amendment Act, 2005, to see if there are any lacunae in the law that Monsanto used to convince the Supreme Court to allow its patent.

Ashwani Mahajan, SJM’s national co-convenor, said: “As per our estimates, Monsanto has already earned more than ~7,000 crore as royalty for Bt cotton seeds. Article 3 (j) of the Patents Amendment Act says an invention which causes serious prejudice to human, animal or plant life or health or to the environment is not patentable. We should check how Monsanto proved that Bt cotton technology is not affecting the environment,” said Mahajan. Farm activists and environmentalists argue that Bt cotton technology affects biodiversity as well as farmers’ and consumers’ rights.