‘KSRTC’ not unique to Kerala, says Union Ministry report

Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though  the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) had claimed that the state has acquired ‘exclusive’ rights to make use of the acronym ‘KSRTC’, Union Commerce Ministry’s trademark public search report says each Kerala and Karnataka have the fitting to make use of the acronym. Legal and trademark specialists too mentioned each the states have subsisting registrations for the acronym.

TNIE accessed the trademark public search report by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks beneath the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which clearly mentions that Kerala and Karnataka have the rights to make use of ‘KSRTC’. Furthermore, the rectifications filed by Kerala SRTC in opposition to Karnataka SRTC’s registrations are pending earlier than the IPAB (Intellectual Property Appellate Board) (now the Madras High Court, after abolition of the IPAB) with out willpower. Consequently, until the willpower of the identical, there isn’t a bar in opposition to the usage of the acronym by both of the states.

“It is true that the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks approved Kerala’s claim to use the acronym KSRTC. However, Karnataka also has subsisting registrations, so it can also use the acronym,” mentioned Akshay Ajayakumar, an IP (Intellectual Property) lawyer training on the Delhi High Court.

Kerala and Karnataka SRTCs have been combating over the custody of the acronym for the previous seven years. Even now, buses and web sites of each RTCs use the identical acronym. The dispute arose when Karnataka SRTC issued a authorized discover in opposition to Kerala SRTC in 2015, demanding them to cease utilizing the identical. A authorized discover from Karnataka RTC woke Kerala up, prompting it to hurry up proceedings to get custody of the trademark.

Kerala started utilizing KSRTC as a model title in 1963, whereas Karnataka began utilizing it solely in 1973. “In 2019, the Trademarks Registry granted registrations to the acronym KSRTC applied-for by Kerala, considering the state was the prior user. Recently, the firm handling the portfolio forwarded the registration certificates to Kerala SRTC. However, they considered the certificates to be an order allowing the name to be used only by Kerala. There is no such order,” Akshay mentioned.

Formed on April 1, 1965, as a reestablishment of the Travancore State Transport Department (TSTD), Kerala SRTC is among the oldest operated and managed public transport utilities within the nation. Karnataka RTC, too, has the same legacy, because it began because the Mysore Government Road Transport Department after which grew to become Karnataka Transport Corporation in 1973.

Biju Prabhakar, Kerala SRTC Managing Director advised TNIE that he had issued a press release clarifying that Karnataka may also use the acronym KSRTC. “However, Kerala is the prime trademark holder, as we started using it much earlier. Moreover, we have lost many businesses, especially inter-state operations, due to this acronym issue. We will sort this out soon by holding discussions with officials at the secretary level. We no longer want to move legally on the matter,” he mentioned.