NSL not to settle royalty dispute with Monsanto JV

New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL) todaysaid it will pursue the royalty dispute with US biotechnologymajor Monsanto's Indian JV over...
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL) todaysaid it will pursue the royalty dispute with US biotechnologymajor Monsanto's Indian JV over Bt cotton seeds despite someIndian firms having settled the matter recently.

Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd (MMBL), a joint venture firmof Monsanto, has sub-licensed Bt cotton seed technology tovarious domestic seed companies since 2002.

However, eight licensees including NSL refused to honourtheir commitments to pay MMBL over Rs 450 crore aftercollecting these amounts from cotton farmers in kharif seasonof 2015.

MMBL had recently informed the government that threecompanies -- Ajeet Seeds, Kaveri Seed Co Ltd and Ankur Seeds-- had settled the case. Their dues were about Rs 300 crore,according to sources.

"Since the intellectual property right (IPR) has impacton our future business, we will not settle the matter. We wantIndian patent law to be read as it is today," Hyderabad-basedNSL's Company Secretary Narne Murali Krishna told PTI.

The Indian patent law is not applicable to agriculturalproducts or practices. "Since the law is clear, we want thecurrent position to remain," he said.

The Delhi High Court has reserved the judgement on thismatter, he added.

Krishna further said that NSL has also challenged thecontracts entered with MMBL for use of Bt cotton technologyfor seed production and sale in the domestic market. This caseis still going on and is inter-connected with the IPR dispute,he added. PTI LUXABM.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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