India’s Apex Court Reinstates Monsanto’s Patent Claim Over GM Cotton Seed

Last April, the Delhi High Court in a historic verdict had said that certain items such as seeds, plants, and animals cannot be patented under Indian law.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — In a major victory for the world’s largest genetically modified seed manufacturer Monsanto, India’s apex court reinstated its claim over patent of BT Cotton seed that it is presently selling in India.

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​The Supreme Court of India overruled the order pronounced by the Delhi High Court declaring the company's patent on its best-selling BT cotton seed variants, Bollgard and Bollgard-II, "invalid".

The St. Louis-based company had lost the patent battle in the Delhi High Court on 11 April, two years after a case was filed by India's Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL), which argued that the US seed company was not eligible to claim patents and demanded royalties from Indian seed companies.

The Delhi High Court had rejected Monsanto’s plea to stop Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd., an estranged licensee of the company, from selling BT cotton seeds in India. Monsanto challenged the decision in the country's apex court on 2 May 2018.

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After the Delhi High Court judgment, it was expected that the cotton seed price would come down heavily in India and provide relief to debt-ridden farmers as they have to take out loans to purchase the costly seeds and pesticides marketed by the US firm.