The Nation Oct. 10 1998

Thailand moves to force revocation of rice trade name

US officials on Friday questioned the wisdom of Thailand's plan to file for revocation of the Jasmati trade name as registered by Texas based RiceTec Inc, arguing that as the world's leading rice exporter the country stood to gain from increased rice consumption promoted by the US rice merchant.

James Martin of the US Embassy's regional environmental department, said Thailand would gain little if at all from filing a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office (US-PTO) because Thai rice traders would not be affected by the trademark.

''If there is an increase in rice consumption, whatever the type, Thailand will benefit from that, because you are the world's leading rice-exporter,'' said Martin.

But he said that if Thailand still wanted to seek to have the US company's trade name revoked on the ground that US consumers were being misled, then it had to prove that that was the case.

Martin was speaking at the video conference on Jasmati rice, patent and biodiversity issues in Bangkok on Friday.

Speaking from Washington, Lynn Beresford, legal counsel of the US-PTO's office of legislative and international affairs, said Thailand or individual Thai rice-traders could petition the US-PTO on RiceTec's controversial trade name.

If Thailand decided to file the petition, he said, it would have to explain why it thought the registration of the name should be revoked by demonstrating how its interests had been harmed.

Scott Sindelar, also of the US Embassy, said the trade name had on the face of it been good for Thailand's rice exporters, pointing out that the amount of Thai rice export to the US had increased since the Jasmati rice was introducted to US consumers in 1993.

Witoon Lianchamroon from the non-governmental organisation Biothai, which advocates biodiversity and farmers' rights, argued that the increase in rice exports to the US had probably been due to the depreciation of the baht against the US dollar rather than the introduction of Jasmati rice in the US.

Suradet Assawintarangkun of the Ministry of Commerce's Intellectual Property Department said the department would not take any legal action because of the expected high legal fees.

He said the department was in the process of applying for an official certification seal of Thai jasmine rice in the US.

''This is the best and cheapest way to protect Thai jasmine rice,'' he said.

Suradet said the certification seal would be stamped on every packet of jasmine rice exported from Thailand.

''If consumers want to buy Thai jasmine rice, they should insist on the one with the certification seal on the packet,'' he said.

BY PENNAPA HONGTHONG