Q.For which variety of Indian rice, the patent was filed by a USA Company?

The patent was filed by a USA company for Basmati rice.

In 1997, an American company obtained a patent on Basmati rice lines and hybrids. This patent allowed the company to sell 'new' varieties of Basmati in the US and abroad. This was controversial because Basmati is a distinct variety of rice indigenous to India, cultivated for centuries, and its identity is deeply intertwined with Indian agriculture and culture. The patenting of such a traditional …

The advancements in biotechnology have brought forth significant discussions around intellectual property rights, particularly concerning biological resources and traditional knowledge. While biotechnology offers immense potential for improving agriculture and medicine, it also raises ethical questions about who owns the rights to genetic material and traditional practices that have evolved over centuries within specific communities. This is where the concept of biopiracy becomes relevant – the appropriation of traditional knowledge and genetic resources by commercial entities without proper authorisation or compensation to the original custodians.

One of the most prominent examples of such a dispute, widely discussed in the context of intellectual property and traditional knowledge, involves the aromatic Indian rice variety known as Basmati. Basmati is renowned globally for its unique aroma and long, slender grains, and it has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, deeply embedded in the agricultural heritage and culinary traditions of India and Pakistan.

In 1997, Ricetec Corporation, an American company, was granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for "Basmati rice lines and grains." The patent essentially covered certain rice lines that were claimed to be novel, but which were, in essence, either derived from or very similar to traditional Indian Basmati varieties. This move sparked widespread outrage in India.

Method — name the specific patent case, then generalise it

Specific case: Basmati rice, patented in the US in 1997.

General lesson: any traditional Indian bioresource with global commercial value (Basmati, turmeric, neem) is a biopiracy targe …