How does farmer grow potato tort to return a responsibility? After accusing four Indian farmers of "infringing" potatoes and claiming RMB 1 million each, Pepsi offered to settle the dispute. "This is the first bow down of Pepsi," said members of the farmers' rights protection group in India. '
According to CNN on April 27, a court in Gujarat, India, heard four farmers' statements on Friday. At the time, PepsiCo's lawyers offered to drop the lawsuit if the farmers joined the company's authorized thousands of people planting program.
Earlier this month, Pepsi's Indian subsidiary sued the farmers. The company sued the four farmers in gulagit for infringing intellectual property rights, saying they are illegally growing and selling potatoes registered by the company for making potato chips, and will ask each farmer for 10 million rupees (about 1 million yuan) in compensation.
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In 2009, PepsiCo licensed thousands of farmers in the Indian state of Punjab to grow a trademark potato used to make loxote chips under a buy back system.
After taking the claim to the court, a PepsiCo spokesman told CNN that on Friday in court, 'we told them why we didn't join our program, we would provide seeds & hellip; & hellip; either join us or grow other varieties of potatoes. In this case, we are willing to give up the case. '
A Pepsi spokesman said: 'the company was forced to take judicial measures to safeguard the greater interests of thousands of farmers participating in potato cooperative planting projects. 'if the farmers agree to the settlement agreement, the company will not seek any compensation.
A lawyer representing farmers said it would take time to consider the proposal. The next trial will be held on June 12.
CNN pointed out that this is the latest battlefield between local Indian enterprises and large global enterprises. Farmers' unions and activists are fighting Pepsi for this, calling on the Indian government to step in and take action against Pepsi.
In a letter to the government earlier this week, they said farmers' rights to grow and sell registered crops are protected by Indian agricultural laws.
The letter also said: 'we believe that the reason why farmers are threatened and harassed by the law is that they are not fully aware of their rights. 'They accused PepsiCo of sending private detectives to impersonate potential buyers, going to the accused farmers, secretly recording their videos and collecting potato samples.
But Pepsi did not comment on the charges.
Kapil Shah of JATAN, a farmer rights group, argues that the company's actions' infringe on food sovereignty 'and' national sovereignty '.
"This is Pepsi's first bow down," Shah said of his active settlement.
At the same time, small retailers in India have been protesting against companies such as Wal Mart and Amazon, saying that these American giants have unfairly ruined their businesses, and they have even succeeded in getting the government to impose some restrictions.