Enthused by the judgment that revoked Pepsi’s intellectual property rights on a potato variety, farmers’ organisations and pro-farmer activists have asked the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV & FRA) to revisit all the registrations given so far by the authority.

“It is important to check if the Registry has applied due diligence with regard to alloting PVCs (plant variety certificates) so far in terms of eligibility of applicant, availability of all required information and documents,” they said.

In a letter to KV Prabhu, Chairperson of PPV&FR Authority, they said there was a need to see “whether correct and consistent information, with regard to first date of sale and other such matters, have been provided by applicants while applying for a certificate.”

“All existing PVC holders should get an explicit communication, an advisory or direction from the Authority that their certificate is subject to Section 39 (in the Protection Plant Varieties Act) related to farmers’ rights,” the letter said. The Section gives an elaborate list of farmers’ rights on seeds and plants.

They want all the future certificates should explicitly make the certificate conditional to upholding of the Section 39.

While thanking the Authority for revoking the IP on potato variety, they felt that the case and the judgement also highlighted the lack of post-registration monitoring in the country.

Those who signed the letter include: Abhilash CA (Gram Seva Sangh); Ajay Etikala (organic farming a); Anand Mazagaonkar (President of Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal); Anand Patwardhan (filmmaker); and Ananthoo (Safe Food Alliance).

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