No one can claim trademark right on holy books, rules Apex Court

No one can claim the names of holy books like Ramayana or Quran and use them as trademarks for selling goods and services, the Supreme Court has ruled.

“There are many holy and religious books like Quran, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, Ramayan, etc. The answer to the question as to whether any person can claim the name of a holy or religious book as a trademark for goods or services marketed by him is clearly ‘No’,” a Bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi and RK Agrawal said.

It also said that allowing the names of gods or holy books to be trademarked could offend “people’s sensibilities”.

The SC’s ruling came on an appeal filed by Bihar-based Lal Babu Priyadarshi, who had sought to trademark the word ‘Ramayan’ to sell incense sticks and perfumes, against the order of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

“The word ‘Ramayan’ represents the title of a book written by Maharishi Valmiki and is considered a religious book of the Hindus. Thus, using exclusive name of the book ‘Ramayan’, for getting it registered as a trademark for any commodity cannot be permissible under the (Trade and Merchandise Marks) Act,” the court observed.

It also objected to pictures used by him on the incense stick packets and said “...the photographs of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman are also shown on the label, which is a clear indication that he is taking advantage of Gods and Goddesses, which is otherwise not permitted.”