The patenting of a new rice variety by a foreign company, despite similar varieties being present in India for an extended period, is related to which of the following options?

Basmati

The correct answer is Option (3) -Basmati

Rice holds significant importance as a staple food grain with a history dating back thousands of years in Asia's agricultural heritage. India alone boasts an impressive diversity of around 200,000 rice varieties, making it one of the world's richest repositories of rice diversity. Among these varieties, Basmati rice stands out for its exceptional aroma and flavor, with India cultivating 27 documented varieties of Basmati.

Basmati rice has been mentioned in ancient texts, folklore, and poetry, underscoring its centuries-old cultivation and cultural significance.

However, in 1997, an American company acquired patent rights for Basmati rice through the US Patent and Trademark Office. This allowed the company to market a "new" variety of Basmati in the US and other countries.

This ‘new’ variety of Basmati had actually been derived from Indian farmer’s varieties. Indian Basmati was crossed with semi-dwarf varieties and claimed as an invention or a novelty. The patent extends to functional equivalents, implying that other people selling Basmati rice could be restricted by the patent.