In its wisdom, the US Patent Office in September 1997 judged the result, named basmati 867, sufficiently novel to grant it patent #5,663,484, entitled ”Basmati Rice Lines and Grains”, giving RiceTec exclusive rights to any basmati hybrid grown anywhere in the western hemisphere. Besides the highly questionable ”novelty” of the invention (cross-breeding has been practised for centuries, including by Punjabi farmers, who produced a variety of basmati rice), what is striking is the inequity and asymmetry of the approach.

By including basmati name into the patent definition, RiceTec could claim wide-ranging rights over a traditional name, for which it did not acknowledge the origin or the originality, let alone the copyright. The practical impact of RiceTec’s patent would be to jeopardise the prospects of Indian basmati rice suppliers seeking to export to the US and other western countries.