3 April, 2020
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (“KVIC”) is a unique institution that aims to link the nation’s past, present and future. Since pre-independent era, Khadi has been considered as the national symbol for swadeshi which incorporates and promotes the principles of self-reliance and sustainability. Khadi was brought into vogue by Mahatma Gandhi in a movement of protest against the British regime known as the swadeshi movement.
Khadi is considered as a cultural heritage of India and enjoys a reservoir of goodwill and cultural symbolism which represents the unhindered spirit of India’s decades-long freedom struggle.
KVIC is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament i.e. the Khadi & Village Industries Commission Act, 1956. KVIC is charged with the responsibility of encouraging and promoting research in production techniques and equipment employed in khadi and village industries, whilst ensuring genuineness of products and setting minimum standards of quality and ensuring conformity to such standards.
Objective of the KVIC
The Commission has three main objectives which guide it’s functioning, these are:
- Social objective of providing employment in rural areas;
- Economic objective of providing saleable articles; and
- Creating self-reliance and building up a strong rural community spirit
KVIC has taken various initiatives for the protection and promotion of Khadi as a brand at the national and international level. KVIC being the registered proprietor of multiple trademark registrations including the symbol of the “Charkha”, word marks "KHADI", "KUTIR", "SARVODAYA" etc. in India and has also applied for registration of such marks in Russia, China, Germany, Australia, UK and Bhutan, to name a few.
Khadi trademarks and symbols have been continually misused by private players for commercial benefits. Chairman KVIC, Shri VK Saxena considering the historical and national importance of the trademarks, has written to Commerce Minister Shri Piyush Goyal seeking his intervention for the matter to be taken by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) which comes under the Ministry of Commerce on priority basis.
Reportedly, with a view to prevent such misuse any further, KVIC, for the first time, has taken up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Permanent Mission of India at UN, Geneva seeking International Trademark protection of symbol of ‘Charkha’ and word marks "KHADI", "KUTIR", "SARVODAYA" under the Article 6 of the Paris Convention.
Article 6 of the Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial property of 1883 (1967 Stockholm Act) protects armorial bearings, flags and other State emblems as well as official signs and hallmarks of all states which are party to the Paris Convention. The Paris Convention is a multilateral treaty dealing with the protection of industrial property in the widest sense. It is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations dealing with the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights.
From time to time foreign entities have tried to use, make profits and claim the usage by registering Intellectual Property Rights in their respective countries for well-known Indian names and products. Khadi Naturprodukte, a German company, has registered "Khadi" as a trademark for its own range of herbal products like shampoos, soaps and oils in Europe. According to the data available on German trademark website; the company has filed for three trademark applications out of which two have been granted protection. Many of the products sold by the German entity are reportedly similar to the Indian-origin products of the KVIC. The German company's website claims khadi to be a "unique brand for the European market and exclusively available with us". Therefore, both the Indian Government and KVIC are perturbed over this development, and the latter has recently sought formal annulment of the trademarks granted to the German company in EU and the USA.
Protection of its intellectual property is not an alien notion to KVIC. Over the years KVIC has vehemently sought protection of its marks and ancillary rights of artisans, against large corporates. In 2015, KVIC sent a legal notice to FabIndia, a chain of ethnic wear retail outlets, demanding Rs. 525 Crore in damages for illegally using its trademark “Charkha” and selling apparels with the “Khadi” tag. Initially FabIndia denied such claims as baseless and further maintained that any action taken in pursuance of the notice would be fervently defended by it (FabIndia).
Pursuant to the issuing multiple notices without any relief, KVIC moved the Hon’ble Bombay High Court over the issue on June 13, 2018, and subsequently, FabIndia submitted an undertaking that it will not be using the word “Khadi” in current or future products.
Overall KVIC is fighting cases in several countries for misuse of “Khadi” marks and has issued notices to around 600 entities in India including Aditya Birla Group's, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle. Pursuant to receiving the notice from KVIC the said company issued a public apology to KVIC for using the trade name “Khadi” without permission to promote its apparel under its brand “Peter England” and further confirmed that it has removed the word from all the promotional materials. As a consequence of KVIC’s unhindered resilience to protect its marks, KVIC has managed to broker exclusive arrangements with brands like Peter England and Raymond; such arrangements go a long way in bolstering and protecting the identity of “Khadi” and to increase its sales, whilst protecting the rights of India artisans which further facilitates KVIC’s objective of providing financial assistance to institutions and individuals operating in khadi and village industries.
For further information, please contact:
Gaurav Wahie, Partner, Clasis Law
gaurav.wahie@clasislaw.com
