India opposes German 'khadi' trademark; fails to renew its own

As it fights a 'Khadi' brand battle with a German company, the government agency KVIC has failed to renew its 37 trademarks within India itself while eight other entities in the country continue to have such registrations in their names.
The German company, named Khadi Natureprodukte GbR, has registered 'Khadi' as a trademark with the European agency, OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market). Spain-based OHIM is the nodal agency looking after Trademarks and Design Registration in the European Union.
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory body engaged in promoting and developing khadi and village industries, has sought de-registration of 'Khadi' trademark granted to this German company, Parliament was informed today.

In a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question, Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said that 37 trademarks containing the word 'Khadi' were registered with the Registrar of Trade Marks in favour of KVIC, while eight trademarks were in the name of other entities.
"However, none of the 37 trademarks registered in favour of the KVIC were renewed within the prescribed time limit and therefore they are not at present existing," she said.
She also gave a list along with necessary details of these 37 trademarks, as also of the eight trademarks that are registered in the name of entities other than KVIC.

All of these 8 trademarks remain valid as of now, while seven of them are in the name of individuals and one for Rajasthan Khadi and Village Industries Board.
The 37 KVIC trademarks that were "not renewed" include 'Khadi', 'Khadi Gramodyog' and 'Khadi Bharat'.
While it was not clear when these trademarks expired, such registrations generally remain valid for 10 or 20 years, unless they get renewed further. Some of the expired trademarks with KVIC were registered as early as in 1979, while the latest application date is 2003.