Kerala’s claim on trademark denounced by KSRTC

Bengaluru: On Friday, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation made it clear that there is no legal prohibition against the use of the trademark ‘KSRTC’. This came after Kerala claimed that the acronym ‘KSRTC’ belonged to its transport corporation.

On Wednesday, Kerala transport minister, Antony Raju said that they had received an order from the registrar of trademarks holding that the KSRTC acronym can only be used by Kerala now. In a statement KSRTC managing director, Shivayogi C Kalasad said, “We have not received any such notice or order from the Central Trade Mark Registry as claimed until today. No final orders have also been passed in the said appeals. Meanwhile, 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.”

He said, “So as on date, KSRTC’s registration of the marks continues to be legally in force and the claim of Kerala RTC in news reports that Karnataka state cannot use the trademark is factually incorrect and legally untenable.”

About the Kerala RTC’s move to issue a notice to KSRTC, he said, “If and when such a notice is issued, a suitable reply would be issued. We are currently consulting our lawyers to take effective legal steps to protect our rights. In the meanwhile, it is requested to restrain from publishing any such unveiled and incorrect reports with legally untenable claims, as reportedly stated by Kerala RTC. We reserve our right to legally defend our claim.”