The Bombay High Court has declared ‘ISKCON’, to be a registered trademark of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a religious organisation while stating that it has also earned a great reputation in India and abroad and there is no doubt that it is associated with religious activities and not anything else.
Justice BP Colabawalla on Friday heard the matter relating to commercial intellectual property rights (IP) filed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) against ISKCON Apparel Private Limited. Justice said it undoubtedly has the right to protect the trademark.
ISKCON alleged that the apparel company infringed its registered trademark by selling cloth online. Defendant ISKCON Apparel Pvt Ltd told the court on Friday that it has now changed its name to Alkis Sports Pvt Ltd and is filing an affidavit that it will not use ISKCON’s name or trademark in future. The court said in its order that ISKCON is a well-known trademark in India under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
It is clear that the plaintiff owns the ISKCON trademark and has not used it before. Justice said that since its right is with the plaintiff, he undoubtedly has the right to protect it. The court said that the plaintiff’s trademark ISKCON has earned a lot of reputation in the country and abroad, so there is no doubt that it has the right of no one else.
According to the petition, ISKCON started in the US in 1966 and within a short time it expanded and gained popularity in the world. The first ISKCON temple was built in 1971 in India. The petition said that presently ISKCON has more than 600 temples worldwide including India.
-India Legal Bureau