Dear All,
Neil Wilkof brought a new trademark application to my attention that has been allowed in India and is open to oppositions.
The Application is attached. The Applicant is an Indian entrepeneur and author.
The mark is for a stylized K with the work Kosher underneath and is a brand of whiskey, spirits and wines.
I think you will agree that this should not be registered. The word KOSHER should remain in the public domain so that purveyors of Kosher food should be able to use it.
The term is laudatory, in that in means fitting to eat in accordance with rigorous dietary requirements of Jews; some of those requirements going back thousands of years.
The mark is misleading in that it is unlikely that wine provided by the registrant is prepared and stored in a manner that renders and maintains it as being Kosher. It is noted that wine is used in many Jewish rituals in the home and Synagogue, It is used to sanctify the Shabbat and Festivals, plays a central role in the Pessach Seder ritual and is used to mark the end of the Shabbat, at life cycle events such as weddings and circumcision ceremonies.
Allowing the term Kosher to be profaned by allowing its use for non-Kosher wines offends the Religious sensibilities of Jews, who have had a presence in India for centuries.
(Judaism is one of the earliest foreign religions to be practiced in India. The traditional account is that traders from Judea arrived in the city of Cochin in 562 BCE, and that more Jews came as exiles from Israel in the year 70 CE. after the destruction of the Second Temple. It is also believed that the Jews settled in India when King Solomon was in power. This was a time that teak, ivory, spices, and peacock were popular in trade in Cochin. There is certainly proof of jews in India from the early Middle Ages).
I have contacted the Head of the Kashrut Fraud Office in Israel (who happens to live accross the road from me in Ofra). He will prepare an official letter of complaint. I met Professor Jeremy Phillips for supper last night and he is helping me enlist the various Batei Din in the UK (London United Synagogue, Federation, Spanish and Portuguese, Manchester.
What I would like is to find an Indian licensed Hindu or Moslem practitioner (or Jewish if there is one) to file oppositions, and would like each of you to prepare letters of opposition with leading Rabbinical support frm your communities, The Indian Trademark Law is on the WiPO website.
At least one relevant bit is as follows:
Absolute Grounds for Refusal of Registration
9.-(1) The trade marks-
(a) which are devoid of any distinctive character, that is to say, not capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of another person;
(b) which consist exclusively of marks or indications which may serve in trade to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, values, geographical origin or the time of production of the goods or rendering of the service or other characteristics of the goods or service;
(c) which consist exclusively of marks or indications which have become customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade,
shall not be registered:
Provided that a trade mark shall not be refused registration if before the date of application for registration it has acquired a distinctive character as a result of the use made of it or is a well known trade mark.
(2) A mark shall not be registered as a trade mark if-
(a) it is of such nature as to deceive the public or cause confusion;
(b) it contains or comprises of any matter likely to hurt the religious susceptibilities of any class or section of the citizens of India;
(c) it comprises or contains scandalous or obscene matter;
(d) its use is prohibited under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
(12 of 1950)
(3) A mark shall not be registered as a trade mark if it consists exclusively of-
(a) the shape of goods which results from the nature of the goods themselves; or
(b) the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result; or
(c) the shape which gives substantial value to the goods.
Explanation-For the purposes of this section, the nature of goods or services in relation to which the trade mark is used or proposed to be used shall not be a ground for refusal of registration.
Jeremy considers that if the mark is used for Kosher products, it should remain open to others. If not, it is misleading. Either way, it should not be allowed.
a number of Halal marks in class 33 (meat). See 1131733 (wordmark) 1131732 and 1493214 which are minorly stylized.
I'd like to solicit help from the group to oppose this mark and if possible to raise a small budget for so doing. I think this is a philanthropic act that we are the correct people to handle. I don't see why we should not pay an Indian practitioner something for fronting this.
Please respond to forum and direct to me at mfa...@ipfactor.co.il as soon as you can with any resources (ideas, funds, contacts) you can offer.
Sincerely,
Michael
