By Harish Damodaran – The Indian Express, 16 October 2015
Photo source: https://amcmullin.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/why-india/
In a dispute that could have larger implications for technology licencing agreements involving multinationals, Monsanto has taken nine domestic seed firms to court for non-payment of ‘trait fee’ on use of its proprietary Bollgard-II Bt (BG-II) knowhow in the cotton hybrids sold by them.
The US life sciences giant has claimed that these companies — including Nuziveedu Seeds, Kaveri Seeds, Ajeet Seeds, Ankur Seeds and Rasi Seeds — owe Rs 425-450 crore of trait fees to its 50 per cent-owned subsidiary Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB), the official Indian licencee for BG-II technology. The due amounts are mainly on sales of genetically modified cotton seeds — incorporating the patented technology conferring bollworm pest resistance — during the recent kharif planting season.
According to Monsanto, the technology licencing agreement executed between MMB and the individual companies requires them to pay a trait fee of Rs 163.28 plus applicable taxes on every seed packet attracting a maximum retail price (MRP) of up to Rs 930. The trait value is more in case of higher MRPs.
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