Karnataka retains Gandaberunda emblem
Bengaluru: KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) became Kerala’s own brand, legally and truly and Karnataka cannot repurpose the brand — Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation — any longer. Trade Marks Registry has certified that the abbreviation KSRTC, logo and the name ‘Aanavandi’ shall belong to Kerala Road Transport Corporation. But the emblem of Gandaberunda still belongs to Karnataka.
This comes after years of legal battle that initially started after Karnataka issued a notice to Kerala in 2014 asking the neighbouring State to stop using abbreviation KSRTC for its transport services. Meanwhile, Karnataka had registered and won ownership over KSRTC brand with the Gandaberunda icon (two-headed mythical bird) in 2014 after which the notice was issued.
Later, Kerala filed an appeal with the Trade Marks Registry and closely followed up the case and Kerala has won the case now. Henceforth, Karnataka cannot use the acronym KSRTC unless it takes an alternative legal recourse.
A piece of history
Kerala convinced the Trade Marks Registry that it has been using the KSRTC acronym since 1965 while Karnataka first used it in 1973 after the reunification and integration of Karnataka. It was MGRTD (Mysore Government Road Transport Department) earlier and was inaugurated on Sept. 12, 1948 with 120 buses.
In 1961, after being successfully converted into an independent Corporation all assets and liabilities of MGRTD were transferred to MSRTC (Mysore State Road Transport Corporation). On Oct.1 1961, Bangalore Transport Service merged with the MSRTC. On Nov. 1, 1973 the Mysore State was renamed into Karnataka State and also on the same date, MSRTC was renamed into KSRTC.
On its part, Kerala presented all evidence with photographs and literature to claim ownership over the acronym as it was using it since 1965 and Karnataka began using it only after 1973. Kerala RTC MD and Transport Secretary Biju Prabhakar told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday that KSRTC can now be used only for Kerala and therefore, a notice will be sent to Karnataka soon.
“The history of KSRTC in Kerala is intertwined with the lives of the people. It is not just a vehicle service. KSRTC has left its mark in cinema, literature, our culture. It cannot be erased that easily. I am happy with the verdict and congratulate the officials who worked for this. This is an achievement for KSRTC,” said Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju.
“We will comment after getting the certified copy of the order and taking legal advice,” said Shivayogi Kalasad, MD, Karnataka RTC.
Alternative names
Meanwhile, there are many names floating around in social media on the probable and suitable names to KSRTC. D. Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation Chairman R. Raghu (Kautilya) has suggested that the new name could be ‘Kannada Saarige’ as Kannada is Karnataka and Karnataka is Kannada. He has suggested to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa that if named ‘Kannada Saarige’ the buses can travel along the length and breadth of India carrying the Kannada name.
Another name that is doing the rounds on social media is ‘Suvarna Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (SKSRTC). This is a minor variant and only ‘Suvarna’ can be added to the existing acronym. Suvarna is already part of the Karnataka transport service in the form of ‘Suvarna Saarige’, posts read.
This post was published on June 3, 2021 6:41 pm