PepsiCo India Holdings has sued farmers in Gujarat for growing potatoes trademarked by the company
PepsiCo India Holdings has sued farmers in Gujarat for infringement of copyright, claiming that the farmers were growing a specific variety of potatoes which is exclusively trademarked by the company for its Lays potato chips.
The lawsuit will be heard in District Court of Gujarat. The lawsuit also says the farmers who are being sued are not amongst those who have been authorized by the company to grow the trademarked potatoes for PepsiCo India Holdings.
PepsiCo India Holdings has issued a statement which says, “We took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety. This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefitting from seeds of our registered variety.”
In the meantime, farmer’s lobby has sought upholding of farmers’ rights under the “Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001”
More than 194 activists have signed a letter addressed to the Ministry of Agriculture, seeking financial aid and protection of rights of farmers who have been sued for growing and selling a potato variety called FC-5 potato, for which PepsiCo India Holdings claims to have obtained exclusive rights in India in 2016.
They want PepsiCo India Holdings to withdraw the case. Farmer’s lobby include members of farmers’ unions, food activists, lawyers, NGOs and agricultural journalists.
The letter read, “This is to bring to your urgent notice our serious concerns and facts around legal suits that are going against farmers on the matter of plant varietal rights. These are being filed by PepsiCo, a US multinational company against potato farmers in Gujarat, with regard to alleged infringement of its rights under Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Act 2001. For us, this is a matter of concern with regard to this set of farmers who have been sued and intimidated, as well as others who could be similarly bullied by seed and food corporations through vexatious litigation in the assertion of plant breeder rights.”
Speaking on the lawsuit on behalf of farmers, Kapil Shah of Jatan Trust said, “We are not letting this case go because it is about farmers and our biodiversity. Indian farmers cannot be intimidated by MNCs who have been introducing GM seeds to our fields. They have been altering the biodiversity of the region and for us; it is important that farmers retain the right to own the natural diversity.”
It is to be noted that PepsiCo India Holdings has invoked the Section 64 of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 to claim infringement of its rights. However, farmer’s group has given the reference of Section 39 of the same Act, which allows a farmer to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under this Act, as long as he does not sell branded seed.
