ISKCON Bangalore at war with ISKCON Mumbai: What the Bombay High Court said on claims over the ISKCON trademark

In a trademark battle over the mark 'ISKCON', the Bombay High Court on Wednesday clarified that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at Bangalore is at liberty to establish its claim over the mark [International Society for Krishna Consciousness Bangalore vs International Society for Krishna Consciousness and Ors]..The ISKCON mark was held to be a well-known mark in India by Justice BP Colabawalla in 2020, in a trademark infringement suit by ISKCON, Mumbai against a company called ISKCON Apparels.This order was assailed by one of the ISCKONs in Bangalore. The Bangalore ISKCON claimed that it was aggrieved by the supposed implication of that judgment that ISKCON, Mumbai was the sole and exclusive registered proprietor of the mark. The grievance was that the Registrar of Trademarks allegedly refused to entertain its claim to the mark in light of the 2020 order passed in the suit filed by ISKCON Mumbai..In the present case, a Division Bench of Justices GS Patel and Gauri Godse noted that the observations in the 2020 suit were limited only to ISKCON being a well-known mark. Since ISKCON Bangalore was not a party to that suit, it was free to establish an exclusive or a concurrent title to the mark."Clarify (to the Registrar of Trademarks) that it's not a finding against you. It is open for you to establish that you have an exclusive or a concurrent title," Justice Patel said.It stated that the single-judge's order should not be construed as finally determining any claims or contentions, either exclusive or joint, with respect to the proprietorship of the mark."Those contentions are left open for the appropriate proceedings before any forum including, we clarify, before the Registrar of Trademarks. The Registrar of Trademarks, is therefore, bound by the finding that ISKCON is well-known mark. As to who is entitled to the use of that mark or can be held to be its registered proprietor are questions expressly left open," the Court said. "In any case, Mumbai and Bangalore are at war in the Supreme Court," it said before dismissing the appeal..The Court was referring to another dispute between ISKCON Bangalore and ISKCON Mumbai over the former's property in Bangalore.In 2011, ISKCON Mumbai was declared to be the rightful owner of the property by the Karnataka High Court. The High Court held ISKCON Bangalore was not a legally constituted body, but a branch of the Mumbai outfit. Consequently, it meant that ISKCON Bangalore was not an independent entity. The appeal against the order is now pending before the Supreme Court..In the case before the Bombay High Court, Senior Advocate Dr Birendra Saraf appeared for ISKCON Bangalore while Senior Advocate Veerendra Tulzapurkar with Advocate Hiren Kamod appeared for ISKCON Mumbai..[Read order]