PepsiCo Wins Controversial Right to Patent Lay's Potato

10 Jan 2024 , 01:38 PM

On January 9, the Delhi High Court’s division bench ruled that PepsiCo, a company based in New York, is entitled to a patent on the potato variety produced specifically for its well-known Lay’s potato chips.

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Authority’s 2021 revocation of the patent was upheld by the HC, which overturned a July 2023 ruling from a single judge. The judge rejected the arguments made by farmers’ rights campaigner Kavitha Kuruganti, who claimed the business was not entitled to a patent on a potato seed variety.

‘PepsiCo’s appeal is granted. As a result, we also annul the Authority’s December 3, 2021, order as well as its February 11, 2022, correspondence. According to the ruling, PepsiCo’s renewal application will be reinstated in the Registrar’s file and will be handled in compliance with the law.

In 1989, PepsiCo opened its first plant in India to produce potato chips. A group of farmers receives the specific potato seed variety from it, and they sell their produce exclusively to the firm at a predetermined price.

Additionally, the court dismissed Kuruganti’s claim that PepsiCo was acting against the public interest by bringing several lawsuits against farmers. According to the court, ‘Apart from a mere reference to various suits alleging infringement, which are stated to have been filed by PepsiCo, the respondent failed to establish or prove that those suits were vexatious or that they had been instituted as part of predatory tactics of PepsiCo.’

PepsiCo filed a lawsuit against a few Indian farmers in 2019 for growing the FC5 potato cultivar, alleging patent infringement. Additionally, the business requested more than Rs 10 crore ($121,050) from each accused patent infringement. But after several months, PepsiCo dropped the lawsuit.

Plant varieties protection authority PPV&FR cancelled the varietal registration certificate that had been awarded to the food and beverage major on the potato variety ‘FL-2027′ in the nation in December 2021. In response to the event, PepsiCo stated that it is examining the directive issued by the Authority for the Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR).

Established by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act of 2001, PPV&FR is a statutory body. The authority’s decision was made in response to a petition submitted by agricultural activist Kavitha Kuruganti, who claimed that PepsiCo India’s certificate of registration was granted based on false information provided by the company.

This order was contested by PepsiCo at the Delhi High Court, leading to the events described above.

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