Basmati Rice Case Study

...

- Critical Analysis:

the TRIPS agreement hampers protection of traditional knowledge, something that is an integral part of the agricultural patents, the more popular form of protection, which are arguably unsuitable for protection of traditional knowledge, economies of many countries. The focus of developing countries has largely been as patents grant legal rights to one person or firm.

Basmati rice means -queen of fragrance and is also admired the “crown jewel” of South Asian rice. It is cherished for its powerful fragrance and taste, famous in national as well as international markets. This kind of rice is grown in the Himalayan hills, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Pakistan, since times ancient. Basmati is the best quality of rice, long grained, and the expensive in the world. Royal Rice Tec Inc. was a tiny American rice company with yearly income of around U.S. $10 million and working staff totaling to 120. They organized a small fraction of the world’s (basmati like) rice production, with names ‘Kasmati’ and ‘Texmati’. They had been trying to enter the world rice market since long, but in vain. On September 2, 1997, Rice Tec Inc. was issued

a patent of the same by USPTO (United States Patent and

Trademark Office) presence patent number

5663484, on basmati rice lines and grains. This gave them the critical rights to call the sweet and perfumed rice Basmati within U.S, and label it the same for export internationally. The formal invention of Basmati rice by Rice Tec Inc. reveal to novel rice lines, novel means for determining, for cooking and also to starch resources of rice grains and its use in identifying adorable rice lines.

[pic 3]

Rice Tech Inc. was granted the rice patent –– Firstly, the creation tells to novel rice lines, its semi-dwarf figure, significant photoperiod insensitivity and high yielding grain, and manufacture of rice grains having features like or higher to those of correct value,– Next, breeding of novel line grains from novel rice lines,– Thirdly, discovering the starch index of a rice grain can forecast the grains catering and its starch assets, based on the method for finding grains that can be cooked to the control of traditional basmati rice preparations, and to the use of this method in choosing right sergeants for rice breeding plans.

A main weakness in the US lawful system is that they keep the patent application a top-secret and the patents are allowed without the other parties filing their conflicts to it, if any. Third parties are permitted to file the request against the patent only after the patent has been allowed, as in the case of BASMATI RICE. However in India and Europe, they first inspect a patent application and then announce it openly so that the third parties can case an conflict to the patent, if any. And then, after all the conflicts have been proved and arranged out, the patent is allowed. Thus, the kind of legal system followed in India stops future cases like the ‘Basmati rice’ case from happening. Therefore, there is a need to analysis and review the patent allowing method in the US.

- NEEM Case Study

[pic 4]

This is the related case to the Basmati rice case. Neem tree is a tropical evergreen tree natural to India and is also authorized in other south east countries. In India, neem is known as “the village drugstore” because of its curing flexibility, and it has been used in Ayurveda medicine for more then 4,000 years due to its healing assets . neem is also means ‘ arista’ in Sanskrit- a word that means faultless, complete and everlasting. The seeds, bark and leaves cover mixes with confirmed antiseptic, antiviral, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer and antifungal usages.

Even though first report on pesticide assets of neem was described in India in 1928, only after 30 years later regular investigation work on neem was introduced. The past five decades observed demanding examination and rising trend to scientific attention on neem and its different assets, ensuing in large number of research publications, books and discussions at national and international levels.

[pic 5]

When India is a participant to the TRIPs agreement and is a member of WTO, intellectual property rights (IPRs) are being measured as a instrument to make wealth through awareness. The TRIPs agreements on one hand, and limitations on double use technology, marketing, territorial limitations and non-tariff obstacles on another hand have fearful many challenges and chances for scientist and manufacturers. The main task is in the area of IPR which has lead to its acknowledgement of importance by the R&D and to industrial organizations. After adoption of TRIPs agreements, consciousness about the importance of IPR has grown extremely since 1994. It is important to know the importance of IPR, why to defend IPR and its importance in technology growth. Such issues are deliberated in this paper with distinct reference to neem patents. IPR is worried with the intangible property, it may be called as Intangible Property Rights; as manufacturers are worried with IPRs mostly in the framework of high-class protection and rights for their investment, so one may call it a Investment Protection Rights too, however its accurate meaning is Intellectual Property Rights.

Contentious Patents on Neem US patent No. 4946681 – allowed in 1990 for refining the storing strength of neem seed removes covering azadirachtin (a obviously happening elements that belongs to an organic molecule session called triterpenoids. Azadirachtin happens in all parts of the neem tree but the common of it is focused in the neem Kernal. It is one of more than 70 limonoids formed by neem). The inventor is James F Walter of Ashton, Maryland. US patent No. 5124349 – granted in 1992 for storing of constant insecticidal arrangement including neem seed abstract. The major influence was growing the shelf-life constancy of azadirachtin solution.

India titles that what the US firms are calling finding are the real theft and lifting of the original practices and information of the people. the Indians and the members of the green party in the European union oppose the business possessing the rights to exit organisms, because they trust that the rights of poor farmers in developing countries will be wounded. The united states, on the other hand, states that what their doing will help the indian economy. One more issue is decline the neem tree is patentable, since it is the