A dispute over exclusive rights to use the 'KSRTC' trademark is set to continue, with the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation dismissing as false the claims that the registrar of trademark has ruled in favour of Kerala.
The row dates back to 2014 when the Karnataka RTC had sent a notice to the Kerala RTC, asking it to stop using the abbreviation. The road transport corporation (RTC) in Karnataka secured the registration of the KSRTC trademark back in 2013, while Kerala received its letter of registration in 2019. Kerala had questioned the notice and appealed at the registrar of the trademarks.
On Wednesday, the Kerala RTC issued a statement claiming that it has secured a favourable order, allowing exclusive use of the abbreviation.
"The reported claims of Kerala RTC are wrong. No registrar has given an exclusive right over the trademark to anybody. At this juncture, we are not saying that Kerala RTC can't use the abbreviation. Section 12 of the Trade Marks Act allows honest concurrent use of a trademark. There is no order on the dispute over exclusive rights," Karnataka RTC Managing Director Shivayogi C Kalasad told DH on Friday.
Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi issued a statement that the reports of Kerala RTC claims were "factually incorrect... No final orders have also been passed in the said appeals."
Further, Savadi and Kalasad both said the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was abolished by an Ordinance of the Central government dated April 4 and all such pending applications will be transferred to the High Court for adjudication. "So as on date, KSRTC’s registration of the marks continue to be legally in force and the claim of Kerala SRTC in news reports that Karnataka state cannot use the trademarks is factually incorrect and legally untenable. AS SUCH, THERE IS NO LEGAL PROHIBITION AGAINST THE USE OF THE TRADEMARK ‘KSRTC’ by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation," the two said in their statement.
Kalasad said neither KSRTC nor the Karnataka government had received any notice by the Kerala RTC. "If and when such a notice is issued, a suitable reply would be issued," the statement said.
Two days after threatening to issue a notice to Karnataka RTC "asking them not to use KSRTC anymore", Kerala SRTC Managing Director Biju Prabhakar said there were not many issues between the two RTCs over the trademark. He said he had already spoken to Kalasad over the trademark. "Some other issues like domain names would be settled amicably through talks," said Prabhakar.