Khadi secures trademark registrations in 3 countries

Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) has secured trademark registration for its brand name “Khadi” in three countries viz., Mexico, Bhutan and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Key Points

• KVIC obtained trademark registration in Bhutan on July 9.
• UAE granted the trademark registration on June 28, 2021.
• Thus, KVIC has successfully secured trademark registration in a gulf country for the first time.
• KVIC received trademark registration for “Khadi” in Mexico in December 2020.

Background

KVIC has had trademark registrations in certain classes of word “Khadi” in five countries – United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Russia and China besides European Union, till date.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)

KVIC is a statutory body established in April 1957. It was established during 2nd Five Year plan, under the ‘Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956’. It works under Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.  KVIC seeks to “plan, promote, facilitate, organise and assist in establishing and developing khadi and village industries across rural areas in association with other agencies engaged in rural development. It is headquartered in Mumbai. It has its six zonal offices across Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Kolkata, Mumbai and Guwahati.

Trademark of KVIC

KVIC has exclusive rights to use trademark ”Khadi” and “Khadi India”. National Internet Exchange of India Domain Dispute Policy (INDRP) Arbitration Tribunal had rejected the claim by private entity that “Khadi” is a generic word.

About Khadi

It refers to hand-spun and hand-woven cloth. Raw materials like cotton, silk, or wool can be spun into threads on charkha (traditional spinning implement) to obtain khadi. It was launched in 1920 as a political weapon in Swadeshi movement started by Mahatma Gandhi. Khadi is sourced from different parts of India:

1. Silk variety of Khadi is sourced from West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and North Eastern states,
2. Cotton variety is sourced from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
3. Khadi poly in Gujarat and Rajasthan
4. Woollen variety is obtained from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Karnataka

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2021