On January 9, one Delhi High Court division bench ruled that PepsiCo is entitled to a patent on the potato variety produced specifically for its well-known Lay’s potato chips.

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Authority’s 2021 revocation of the patent was upheld by the High Court, which overturned a single judge’s July 2023 decision-making. Money Control reports that the High Court has rejected the arguments made by farmers’ rights campaigner Kavitha Kuruganti, who claimed the corporation was not entitled to a patent on a potato seed type.

“The appeal of PepsiCo is allowed. We consequently also set aside the order of the Authority dated December 3, 2021, and the letter issued by the Authority dated February 11, 2022. The renewal application as made by PepsiCo shall stand restored on the file of the Registrar who shall dispose of the same by law,” according to the assessment, cited in the above-mentioned source.

Additionally, the court dismissed Kuruganti’s claim that PepsiCo was acting against the public interest by bringing several lawsuits against farmers.

The court ruled: “Apart from a mere reference to various suits alleging infringement, which are stated to have been filed by PepsiCo, the respondent failed to establish or prove that those suits were vexatious or that they had been instituted as part of predatory tactics of PepsiCo.”

In 1989, PepsiCo opened its first plant in India to produce potato chips. A group of farmers receives the specific potato seed variety from it, and they sell their produce exclusively to the firm at a predetermined price.

PepsiCo filed a lawsuit against a few Indian farmers in 2019 for growing the FC5 potato cultivar, alleging patent infringement. Also, the business requested more than USD 121,050 from each person for purported patent infringement. However, after several months, PepsiCo dropped the lawsuit.

Plant Varieties Protection Authority PPV&FR canceled the varietal registration certificate that had been awarded to the food and beverage major on the potato variety ‘FL-2027′ in the country in December 2021. In response to the event, PepsiCo stated that it is examining the directive issued by the Authority for the Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR).

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act of 2001 established PPV&FR as a statutory body. The authority verdict concerned a case made by farm activist Kavitha Kuruganti, who claimed that PepsiCo India’s certificate of registration was granted based on false information that the company had provided. PepsioCo challenged this order at the Delhi High Court.