Madras High Court seeks response from Vijay, TVK on appeal in trademark case over party flag

The Madras High Court on September 26 sought the response of actor-politician Vijay and his political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on an appeal filed by a trust alleging trademark infringement of its flag by TVK [GB Pachaiyappan and anr v. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and anr]..One GB Pachaiyappan moved the Court alleging that the TVK flag was copied from the design of a flag used by a trust run by him, namely the Thondai Mandala Saandror Dharma Paribalana Sabai.In August this year, a single judge of the High Court refused to pass any interim orders to restrain TVK from using its flag. This refusal has been challenged by Pachaiyappan and his trust before a Division Bench of the High Court.On September 26, the Bench of Justices G Jayachandran and Mummineni Sudheer Kumar asked Vijay and his party to respond to the appeal. The appeal will be heard next after six weeks. The Division Bench also clarified that the admission of this appeal will not stand in the way of the single-judge proceeding with hearing the main trademark dispute further and passing a final verdict in the matter. .The trust and its founder (plaintiffs before the single bench) have claimed that TVK’s flag, unveiled in August 2024, was visually and conceptually similar to their registered trademark, which consists of a red-yellow-red tricolour with a central circular motif.As per trademark records, Pachaiyappan had applied for registration of the mark on November 28, 2023 under Class 45, which covers “personal and social services rendered by others to meet individual needs.” The application was filed in his individual capacity through his counsel Newton Reginald, and includes the device mark with the text “THONDAI MANDALA SAANDROR DHARMA PARIBALANA SABAI” along with the Tamil tagline “VAAZHGA TAMIL – VALARGA THALAIMURAI.” The English translation reads: “Thondai Zone Witnesses Virtue Upkeep Council; Long Live Tamil – Grow Up Generation.”.According to the plaintiffs, they have been using this flag since 2023 in connection with personal and social services provided by the trust, including the publication of a Tamil magazine titled Saandror Kural and the operation of a YouTube channel under the same name. The mark was registered under Class 45 on June 1, 2024, and the plaintiffs claimed that the central design also qualifies as an original artistic work entitled to copyright protection.As per the plea, TVK’s flag infringes both the plaintiffs’ trademark and copyright, and that the resemblance could cause confusion among the public. They have, therefore, urged the Court to restrain TVK and Vijay from using their current party flag and payment of ₹5 lakh as damages for intellectual property infringement and passing off. During hearings before the single-judge Bench, TVK had refuted the allegation that the trust and the political party were operating in similar fields. While they said that there are some similarities between the flags, they also explained the symbolism in various elements of TVK's flag including the use of elephants at the centre, a vaagai flower and the idea behind the use of maroon and yellow in the flag. On August 18, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy took a prima facie view that TVK did not appear to have copied the trust's flag and refused to restrain the party from using its current flag. .This refusal to grant interim relief has now been challenged by the trust and its founder before the High Court's Division Bench. .The appeal was filed through advocates Ramesh Ganapathy, Subashini IM, Kavya. RB, Tharun Rajan AS, Santhiya V, Oveya S and Fathima Hussain of Mission Legal. .[Read Order]