Gokul, Gowardhan, Kishen, Kaniya, Nand Gokul, Ananda, Shyam..
etc. Do these words ring a bell? Apart from being associated with
milch animals, aren't they all connected to the Indian deity,
Lord Krishna? In India, Lord Krishna is closely associated with
milk and dairy products because of his age old stories of being a
curd-thief and his name is used by numerous brands.
An application for the registration of the composite label:
'KANAIYA Dairy Farm' in
class 29 was filed at the TM Registry respect of, inter
alia, milk and other dairy products.
The application was opposed by Kanaiya Dairy Farms Pvt. Ltd.
("the Opponent") claiming that the mark was deceptively
similar to its registered trademark KANAIYA. The Opponent stated
that it was the prior adopter of the mark and had adopted it since
1983. The Registrar observed that Kanaiya being the name of Lord
Krishna is closely associated with dairy products in India. In view
of this, the Opponent herein could not be
