PepsiCo Inc. has agreed to withdraw lawsuits against Indian potato farmers it alleged infringed a patent by cultivating a variety grown exclusively for its Lay's potato chips. "After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers," a PepsiCo India spokesperson said on Thursday, adding that this applied to all nine growers. PepsiCo maintains that it developed the FC5 variety of potato, which has a reduced moisture content to make snacks such as potato chips, and registered the trait in 2016. The April lawsuit was filed in Ahmedabad, the business hub of the western state of Gujarat, requesting that the court restrain the four farmers from growing the FC5 variety. An Indian farmer harvests potatoes at a field at Arial village near Allahabad, India on March 12, 2013.

Source: CBC News May 02, 2019 21:22 UTC