NSL not to settle royalty dispute with Monsanto JV

Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL) today said it will pursue the royalty dispute with US biotechnology major Monsanto's Indian JV over Bt cotton seeds despite some Indian firms having settled the matter recently.

Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd (MMBL), a joint venture firm of Monsanto, has sub-licensed Bt cotton seed technology to various domestic seed companies since 2002.

However, eight licensees including NSL refused to honour their commitments to pay MMBL over Rs 450 crore after collecting these amounts from cotton farmers in kharif season of 2015.

MMBL had recently informed the government that three companies -- Ajeet Seeds, Kaveri Seed Co Ltd and Ankur Seeds -- had settled the case. Their dues were about Rs 300 crore, according to sources.

"Since the intellectual property right (IPR) has impact on our future business, we will not settle the matter. We want Indian patent law to be read as it is today," Hyderabad-based NSL's Company Secretary Narne Murali Krishna told

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)