India is suspending patents for a variety of cultivated potatoes, specifically grown for the popular potato chips Lay's owned by PepsiCo Inc. This is in accordance to the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPVFR) Authority order issued on Friday.
In 2019, PepsiCo sued Indian farmers in western Gujarat for planting FC5 potatoes, which contained low moisture content required to produce snacks such as chips.
That same year, the New York-based company said it wanted to resolve the issue amicably after withdrawing the lawsuit.
Farmers rights activist Kavitha Kuruganti later filed a petition in the PPVFR for PepsiCo's FC5 for intellectual property rights, claiming that Indian law does not allow seed patenting.
The PPVFR authorities agreed with Kuruganti's argument that Pepsi could not claim the seed patent.
"The certificate of registration... is hereby revoked with immediate effect," K. V. Prabhu, chairman of the PPVFR Authority said in the order, seen by ...