In an official order published on Tuesday, the Trade Marks Registry admitted that the acceptance of the application was a mistake and that the mark violated legal provisions under Sections 9 and 11 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
The Trade Marks Registry has withdrawn its approval for registering the trademark ‘CHUTIYARAM’ under Class 30 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The decision came on Tuesday, just a day after the mark was published in the Trademark Journal and two weeks after it was initially accepted.
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In an official order published on Tuesday, the Trade Marks Registry admitted that the acceptance of the application was a mistake and that the mark violated legal provisions under Sections 9 and 11 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
“The above-mentioned application was accepted through an error. The registration of the mark is open to objection on the grounds that it does not meet the criteria for registration under Section 9/11 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Therefore, the Registrar proposes to withdraw the acceptance pursuant to Section 19 of the Act, read with Rule 38 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, and has scheduled a hearing regarding the application,” the order stated.
The approval of the mark had triggered discussions among intellectual property law professionals, questioning how such a word passed the scrutiny process.
The original approval was based on the examiner’s view that ‘CHUTIYARAM’ was a combination of two arbitrary words, ‘Chuti’ and ‘Ram,’ and that the term, as a whole, was unique enough to be distinguished from other trademarks.
The Registry initially justified the approval by stating that the mark had no direct link to the goods applied for (namkeen and biscuits). Thus, objections under Section 9(1) were dismissed, leading to its acceptance.
However, legal experts raised concerns about why the mark was not rejected under Section 9(2)(c) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, which bars the registration of marks that are scandalous, obscene, or against public morality. The order noted that the mark was accepted despite the applicant not appearing for four scheduled hearings.
Under Indian trademark law, words that are vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate cannot be registered as trademarks.
Section 9(2)(c) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, clearly states that any trademark that is scandalous, obscene, or contrary to public morality cannot be approved. This provision ensures that words or phrases that may offend public sensibilities are not granted trademark protection. Furthermore, trademarks that offend religious sentiments, deceive consumers, or violate public order are also rejected.
Before granting approval, the Trademark Registry evaluates whether a proposed mark could create social controversy. As a result, brands trying to register controversial or provocative names must ensure that they meet all legal and ethical guidelines.
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What Happens When a Trademark is ‘Accepted & Advertised’?
When a trademark is marked as ‘Accepted & Advertised,’ it means the application has cleared the initial examination stage. This means that the examiner found no major objections or resolved any existing concerns during scrutiny. After this, the trademark is published in the Trademark Journal to allow the public and interested parties to raise any objections before it proceeds to final registration.
Read Order
