Madras High Court Today (July 17) sent notice to actor Vijay and his party TVK over allegations of copying a flag design. A trust claims the flag is too similar to their registered symbol used for social services.
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CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has taken serious note of a case involving well-known Tamil actor Vijay and his political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
On Thursday, the Court issued a notice to both Vijay and his party in a civil suit filed against them for trademark and copyright infringement.
The case has been filed by one GB Pachaiyappan along with the trust he represents, called Thondai Mandala Saandror Dharma Paribalana Sabai.
The notice was issued by Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, and the next hearing for the case is scheduled for July 29.
The petitioners have stated in the court that the TVK party flag, which was revealed to the public in August 2024, looks visually and conceptually similar to their own registered flag. Their flag is described as having a red-yellow-red tricolour design with a circular design in the center.
As per official trademark documents, Pachaiyappan had applied for registration of this flag design on November 28, 2023, under Class 45, which is for “personal and social services rendered by others to meet individual needs.”
This application was made in his individual capacity with the help of his lawyer Newton Reginald. The design also contains the words:
“THONDAI MANDALA SAANDROR DHARMA PARIBALANA SABAI”
along with the Tamil tagline:
“VAAZHGA TAMIL – VALARGA THALAIMURAI”
The English meaning of the tagline is:
“Thondai Zone Witnesses Virtue Upkeep Council; Long Live Tamil – Grow Up Generation.”
According to the petition, the trust has been using this particular flag since 2023. They use it for activities such as publishing a Tamil magazine called Saandror Kural and also running a YouTube channel under the same name.
They also informed the court that the trademark was officially registered on June 1, 2024 under Class 45. Moreover, they claim the central circular design of their flag is an original artistic work, which is protected under copyright law.
The plaintiffs further allege that the flag used by Vijay’s party TVK is almost the same as their own and that this similarity could confuse the general public. They also say that TVK adopted the design in bad faith to take advantage of the trust’s goodwill and reputation already associated with the original flag.
In their legal plea, the plaintiffs have requested the following from the court:
- A permanent ban stopping TVK and Vijay from using the similar flag in the future
- Rs 5 lakh in damages for infringement and for trying to pass off their own design
- An official order asking the defendants to show details of any profit made by using the disputed flag
- Complete destruction of all materials using the copied design, including flags, printed papers, and advertisements
- Reimbursement of court costs
The plaintiffs have also asked the court to skip the usual mediation process under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act. They said this was needed because the matter is urgent and any delay may cause serious harm.
- The plaintiffs were represented by a team of lawyers, including Ramesh Ganapathy, Subashini IM, Rajeev M, Kavya RB, Tharun Rajan AS, and Santhiya V.
CASE TITLE:
GB Pachaiyappan vs Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam
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