PepsiCo is suing farmers in India for growing the potatoes it uses in Lays chips

Updated 2132 GMT (0532 HKT) April 25, 2019

PepsiCo says the farmers were "illegally" growing its registered variety of potatoes.

New York (CNN Business)PepsiCo is suing four farmers in India for copyright infringement, claiming they were growing a variety of potatoes trademarked by the company for exclusive use in its Lays potato chips.

The lawsuits were filed earlier this month by the company's Indian subsidiary, and will be heard by a district court in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Friday. PepsiCo(PEP) says the farmers being sued are not among the thousands it has authorized to grow the trademarked potatoes.

But farmer unions and activists are fighting back against the food and beverage maker, marking the latest battle in India between local businesses and big global players. Small Indian retailers have been protesting againstcompanies like Walmart(WMT) and Amazon(AMZN) — claiming the American retailers are unfairly destroying their business — and even succeeded in getting the government to put in some restrictions.

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PepsiCo, which owns brands like Pepsi, Lays, Gatorade and Quaker Oats, is reportedly seeking damages of 10 million rupees ($143,000) from each farmer.

"PepsiCo is India's largest process grade potato buyer and amongst the first companies to work with thousands of local farmers to grow a specific protected variety of potatoes for it," an India-based company spokesperson told CNN Business on Thursday. "In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety."