These early attempts at growing hybrid rice were met with limited success due to problems in production and grain characteristics.
The claiming of the patent by RiceTec angered many farmers, officials, and NGOs in the region because of this act of theft of intellectual property and vowed to fight the patent, especially since the information provided to Ricetec largely came from the basmati seeds at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.
The suit alleged that Meredith had been sold both impure and defective seeds by RiceTec, and also accused RiceTec of negligence, breach of contract, breach of warranty, and violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act for misrepresenting and mislabeling its seeds.
[16] According to the lead attorney for the plaintiff, the hybrid seed rice he (Scott Meredith) purchased had inferior milling characteristics that hurt marketability and did not yield as was promised by the company.
[17] The case received widespread attention in the rice producing areas of the United States and prompted RiceTec CEO John Nelsen to issue a statement rebuffing all allegations and promising to fight the lawsuit.