The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has secured legal ownership of its trademarks, including the widely used abbreviation KSRTC, following an extended legal battle for intellectual property rights. For decades, both the Karnataka and Kerala State Road Transport Corporations (SRTCs) have used the abbreviation KSRTC.
The Karnataka SRTC had officially registered the abbreviation and its associated logo with the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks. In a recent announcement, KSRTC said that the Madras High Court has ruled in its favour, stating that there is no legal prohibition for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation to use the KSRTC abbreviation. The court has further dismissed Kerala SRTC's claim for exclusive rights to the KSRTC abbreviation.
Karnataka SRTC in a statement said that it had applied for a Trade Mark Certificate for the use of the 'KSRTC' abbreviation, which was granted by the Trade Mark Registry of the Government of India in 2013, with a user date dating back to November 1, 1973. The corporation also obtained copyright protection for the use of the 'KSRTC' logo and the 'Gandabherunda art' from the Registrar of Copyrights.
The legal dispute escalated when the Kerala SRTC challenged Karnataka SRTC's trademark registration before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in Chennai. Karnataka SRTC argued that Kerala SRTC was aware of the trademark's use by the Karnataka SRTC for 42 years, and therefore, they were not entitled to claim the later trademark's registration as invalid.
The matters were initially under the purview of the IPAB, but following the Union Government's abolition of the IPAB, they were transferred to Madras High Court. The High Court recently on December 12 ruled in favour of Karnataka SRTC, dismissing the application filed by Kerala SRTC.