On Friday, an order issued by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights (PPVFR) Authority stated that India has revoked a patent for a potato variety grown exclusively for PepsiCo Inc’s popular Lay’s potato chips.
In 2019, PepsiCo sued some Indian farmers based in Gujarat for cultivating the FC5 potato variety which has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips. Withdrawing the lawsuits the same year, the New York-based company stated it wanted to settle the issue amicably.
Later, Kavitha Kuruganti, a farmers’ rights activist, petitioned the PPVFR Authority for revocation of intellectual protection granted to PepsiCo’s FC5 potato variety stating that India’s rules do not allow a patent on seed varieties. PPVFR Authority agreed with Kuruganti’s contention that Pepsi cannot claim a patent over a seed variety. KV Prabhu, chairman of the PPVFR Authority stated in the order, “The certificate of registration… is hereby revoked with immediate effect.” A PepsiCo India spokesperson stated, “We are aware of the order passed by the PPVFR Authority and are in the process of reviewing the same.”
