PepsiCo India’s 2019 lawsuits against Gujarat farmers over the FL 2027 potato—also known as FC-5—were withdrawn. A separate legal challenge led India’s plant-variety authority to revoke PepsiCo India’s registration for the variety in 2021; the Delhi High Court upheld that revocation in 2023. The High Court decided whether the registration was properly obtained, not whether the farmers had infringed PepsiCo’s rights.
What happened in the PepsiCo potato dispute?
The dispute involved two separate legal proceedings. In 2019, PepsiCo India sued Gujarat farmers, alleging they had cultivated and sold FL 2027/FC-5 without permission. The company announced that it was withdrawing those suits in May 2019; the allegations were not resolved in a court ruling on their merits. Separately, activist Kavitha Kuruganti sought revocation of PepsiCo India’s registration for the variety. That challenge proceeded before the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority and later the Delhi High Court.
| Date | Proceeding | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | PepsiCo India’s suits against Gujarat farmers over alleged cultivation and sale of FL 2027/FC-5 | PepsiCo India announced withdrawal of the suits in May 2019; the allegations were not adjudicated in the later appeal. Reuters, 2019 |
| December 3, 2021 | Kuruganti’s challenge to PepsiCo India’s plant-variety registration | The Authority revoked the registration. Its notice says certificate No. 59 of 2016 “stands revoked with effect from 3rd December, 2021.” Authority public notice |
| July 5, 2023 | PepsiCo India’s appeal against the revocation | The Delhi High Court dismissed the appeal, leaving the revocation in place in that decision. Delhi High Court judgment |
What are FL 2027 and FC-5?
FL 2027 is the variety name used in the registration dispute; FC-5 is the commercial name associated with it. The Delhi High Court described FL 2027 as a chipping potato. In its case before the court, PepsiCo India said the variety had low external defects, high dry matter or solids, and stable sugars, qualities it considered useful for making chips. The judgment records that PepsiCo India used it to manufacture Lay’s potato chips.
The judgment also records PepsiCo India’s position that plant breeder Robert W. Hoopes developed the variety in the United States. That is the company’s account as presented in the case, rather than a separate finding needed to decide the appeal.
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Why was PepsiCo India’s registration revoked?
The registration was issued under India’s Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (PPV&FR Act). The Authority revoked it after Kuruganti’s application, and the High Court examined whether the original registration application contained the required information and evidence.
The judgment considered, among other matters, information about the variety’s first sale and whether PepsiCo India had provided the required proof of assignment or authority to apply for registration. The court treated the use of the incorrect “new” variety category as a clerical error in the circumstances, but found material deficiencies remained, including the failure to provide required proof of the right to apply when registration was sought. It concluded that the Authority was justified in revoking the registration and dismissed PepsiCo India’s appeal.
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“The onus of providing correct information in the application is on the applicant and the applicant cannot shift this onus on the Authority or, having given incorrect information, plead that no difference would have resulted in the consideration of the application had correct information been provided by the applicant.”
Justice Navin Chawla, Delhi High Court, judgment dated July 5, 2023
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How does India’s law balance plant-breeder and farmer interests?
The PPV&FR Act provides a system for protecting plant varieties while also recognizing farmers’ rights. The rights-holder side depends on qualifying for registration and supplying the information and documents required by law. The farmer-rights provision discussed in contemporaneous 2019 coverage allows a farmer to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share, or sell farm produce, including seed, subject to a restriction on selling branded seed of a protected variety. Reuters’ 2019 report describes that provision in the context of the suits.
Those principles do not make the two proceedings interchangeable. The withdrawn suits concerned PepsiCo India’s allegations about particular farmers’ conduct. The 2023 High Court appeal concerned the validity of PepsiCo India’s registration and its application record. The appeal did not determine every question about farmers’ use or sale of seed, nor did it find that the sued farmers had infringed.
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Did PepsiCo lose a patent on the potato?
“Patent” is not the precise term for the registration at issue. PepsiCo India held a plant-variety registration under the PPV&FR Act, and the Authority revoked that registration in 2021. The Delhi High Court dismissed the company’s appeal in 2023. The reported judgment establishes those outcomes; it does not establish whether a later proceeding changed the variety’s registration status.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What PepsiCo says about potatoes for Lay’s
In an October 9, 2025 article, PepsiCo said there are more than 4,000 registered potato varieties worldwide, that 10 are suitable for Lay’s chips, and that developing a potato can take up to nine years. Those are PepsiCo’s figures, not independent findings about FL 2027. The company also said Lay’s works with over 100 family-owned farms across North America, sources crops and ingredients from growers in more than 60 countries, and can move potatoes from farm to bag in as little as 48 hours during harvest season. Those company statements do not establish the current status of any particular India sourcing arrangement.
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PepsiCo cited Euromonitor International’s Snacks 2025 edition, using 2024 retail value sales data, for its claim that Lay’s is the world’s No. 1 potato-chip brand. This is a ranking attributed by PepsiCo to Euromonitor, not an independently reproduced analysis here.
“The new visual identity celebrates the humble, farm-grown potato — where every Lay’s potato chip starts — and heroes the ingredients that deliver the unmatched flavor consumers have always loved.”
Alexis Porter, PepsiCo Vice President of Marketing, Global Lay’s, PepsiCo, October 9, 2025
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