KSRTC- Who does the name belong to? Kerala or Karnataka?

After securing a trademark on the name, Karnataka has asked Kerala to stop using the name

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The News Minute | November 28, 2014 | 04:31 pm IST For Kannadigas and Keralites, ‘KSRTC’ holds a unique significance- it goes beyond being just a means of transportation. Over the decades KSRTC- Kerala State Road Transport Corporation and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation- has evolved into a brand of its own. However, a war of sorts now seems to be brewing between the two states over ownership of the ‘KSRTC’ brand name. Karnataka has secured the trademark on the name ‘KSRTC’ with a Gandaberunda icon (two-headed mythical bird) a few months ago. But the tussle seems to have begun when Karnataka sent a notice to Kerala asking the latter to stop using the same name. ‘We have asked Kerala not to use the KSRTC brand name’, said Umesh Babu, Chief Marketing Officer of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. And that for Kerala is unthinkable. "This is like the fight for patent of neem and turmeric. India fought to make sure that we got trademarks cancelled for many things that were our own. Just like that, KSRTC is the name Kerala has been using for years. Karnataka went to the Trademarks Registry in 2012, we were not even informed about it. We will fight this legally," Antony Chacko, Managing Director of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation told The News Minute. “Kerala began using the KSRTC brand name in 1963, Karnataka started using the same name only in 1973”, he added. Stressing that Kerala is in no way ready to let go off the name, Chacko said that the move to give the trademark to Karnataka was injustice as Kerala was not asked whether it had objections. "We were kept in dark about the trademark proceedings with Karnataka. The trademark authorities should have informed us about Karnataka’s application for trademark and called for objections", he said. When asked why Kerala did not apply for a trademark for all these years, Chacko responded that they never thought Karnataka will claim it as their own. Karnataka has asked Kerala to stop using the name KSRTC- Will Kerala oblige? "Why should we? We will go ask for redressal," Chacko added.

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