Arham Jain
On 18 March 2025, the application to register the mark “CHUTIYARAM” under Class 30 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, was withdrawn by the Trade Marks Registry.
The Registry said in a ruling released on Tuesday that the mark was subject to objections under Sections 9 and 11 of the Act and had been approved incorrectly.
The order stated that “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,”
Two weeks after the mark was first accepted and just one day after it was published in the Trademark Journal, it was withdrawn. Practitioners of intellectual property law have been discussing the permission, raising concerns about the legal ramifications of registering potentially objectionable phrases as well as the review procedure.
While accepting the mark, the examiner noticed that the mark is a combination of two arbitrary words, ‘Chuti’ and ‘Ram,’ and found that as a whole, it is distinctive and can be recognized from other trademarks.
The Court said that as the mark makes no explicit reference to the applied goods—namkeen and biscuits—objections under Section 9(1) were dismissed, and the mark was accepted.
Section 9(2)(c) of the Trade Marks Act, which forbids the registration of trademarks that are scandalous, vulgar, or against public decency, raised questions about how the mark evaded investigation.
The original ruling stated that the mark was approved even though there was no representation at the four sessions.
It is often forbidden to register derogatory or slang terms as trademarks under Indian trademark law. Particularly since trademarks deemed scandalous, indecent, or against public morals are prohibited by Section 9(2)(c) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. This limitation limits the approval of words or phrases that may be judged vulgar, rude, or improper for public sensitivities.
Trademarks that violate public order, mislead customers, or outrage religious sensitivities may also be rejected. Before allowing registration, trademark authorities usually assess whether a proposed mark has the potential to spark societal controversy. As a result, companies seeking to trademark names that are controversial or edgy need to make sure that they adhere to ethical and legal requirements.
Classified as “Accepted & Advertised,” a trademark indicates that the application has passed the preliminary review phase. During scrutiny, the examiner either identified no complaints or addressed any issues. After being accepted, the mark is made public and accessible to interested parties by being published in the Trademark Journal.
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