Basmati Wars

Basmati rice is exclusively grown in Indian sub-continent and India is the largest exporter of Basmati in the world. In the past, the Indian government was involved in a bitter patent war with the U.S.PTO over the grant of patent on Basmati rice to a U.S. Company –RiceTec. While the Indian government succeeded in getting the patents covering Indian Basmati revoked, it could not prevent the U.S. Company from using the trademark 'Texmati' which is deceptively similar to 'Basmati'. The Indian public has learnt a lesson from this past experience and therefore, an attempt was made by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority ('APEDA') to protect Basmati rice as a Geographical Indication (GI) for the regions where it is being grown in India.