Court: Monsanto can’t have patent on Bt cotton in India

Bloomberg

Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, can’t own a patent over genetically modified cotton seeds in India, a court ruled.
The Delhi High Court verdict said that certain items such as seeds, plants and animals can’t be patented under Indian laws. The court rejected Monsanto’s plea to stop Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd., an estranged licensee of the company, from selling Bt cotton seeds
in India.
The verdict underscores the challenges faced by multinational companies in dealing with the patent laws at a time when the country of about
1.3 billion people is trying to attract foreign companies to invest in mega projects. The government has been trying to strike a balance between the interests of consumers and companies spending in research and innovation, and to ensure that essential items such as seeds and drugs are available to people at affordable prices.
“What it means is effectively Monsanto has no patent on seeds in India and they have never had it. They have tried to hoodwink the seed companies and farmers for years claiming they have a patent and making huge amounts of money from that,” Diya Kapur, a lawyer for Nuziveedu Seeds, told. The company may challenge the order in the Supreme Court, Bitika Sharma, lawyer for Monsanto, said.
A spokesman for Monsanto India declined to comment on the issue saying it was yet to receive a copy of the court order.
Monsanto can now apply to India’s Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority for the registration of its Bt cotton seeds and charge a fee, decided by the government body, a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court, headed by S. Ravindra Bhat, said. The verdict is another setback for Monsanto, which is being acquired by Germany’s Bayer AG in a $66 billion deal.