According to analysts, the reported grant of patent by the US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) to the Alvin (Texas)--based Rice Tec Inc for varieties of rice claimed to be superior to Basmati may not have too many unsavoury implications for India.
Though an authentic version of the USPTO order and the actual claims made by Rice Tec Inc for which the patent has been granted are not yet available, the information received here indicates that Basmati as a brand has not been handed over to the US company. The patent provides protection only to the