Even as the country's apex cricket body Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Zee group continue to fight over trademark rights related to the 20-20 format of the game, a couple of other entities selling salt and tobacco products have sought to register similar trademarks.
As per the information available from the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, application has been filed for registering a trademark under the name 'TWENTY-20' by an entity in Karnataka for "gutkha and tobacco products".
Separately, another trademark application has been filed with the authorities for "TWENTY 20" by Gujarat-based Ahir Salt Industries for salt to be sold in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.
Besides, another trademark has been sought for 'Indian Twenty Twenty Cricket Federation' by a Punjab-based entity for sporting articles (except clothing) and this application is currently open for opposition from any third party.
The BCCI has already opposed Zee group entity Essel Sports' move to get registered in its name various trademarks involving phrases like Twenty-Twenty and its many other combinations.
Some of such trademarks include 'T20', 'T TWENTY', '20-TWENTY CRICKET', 'TWENTY-TWENTY CRICKET', 'TWENTY-20 CRICKET' and '20-20 CRICKET'.
Subhash Chandra-led media and entertainment conglomerate Zee group is the force behind Indian Cricket League (ICL), which runs parallel to BCCI's Indian Premier League (IPL). Both the leagues conduct cricket tournaments with a 20-20 format, where in each team is allowed to play for 20 overs.
Essel started filing applications for these trademarks way back in 2007, while most of the objections from BCCI on these applications have been submitted in the past few months with the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks.
The two other trademark applications, Twenty-20 for 'gutkha and tobacco products' and 'Twenty 20' for salt, were also filed in late 2007.
On both the applications, the government has issued 'examination report', which is generally issued when the authorities find any problem, which has the trademark being deemed generic or a similar mark having been found.
The trademark office generally takes about four months for examining the application, after which it issues either an 'acceptance letter', or an 'adverse report'.
Once accepted, the application is advertised in the Official Journal of Trademarks, after which an 'opposition period' follows, which gives three months for any third party to file an official objection.
The 20-20 related trademarks have been sought by Essel for areas like entertainment programmes, sports, news and current affairs programmes or services.
Besides, the trademarks have also been sought in areas of telecommunications, like broadcasting or diffusion of communication and data signals, including TV and radio programme signals.
At the same time, BCCI has also applied for trademarks such as TWENTY 20, IPL TWENTY 20, Indian Premier League and Indian Premier League Twenty 20, where no objections have been filed so far. On the other hand, Essel has also sought trademarks like 'Edelweiss 20s Challenge and '20-20 INDIAN CHAMPIONSHIP', which remain unobjected so far.
Both the IPL and the ICL were launched in 2007, but BCCI has decided to shift the second season of IPL 20-20 tournament outside India to South Africa from April 18 till May 24. ICL conducted its second season late last year.
Essel Sports has also filed applications for trademarks related to the names of its various teams. These include Hyderabad Heroes, Kolkata Tigers, Mumbai Champs, Chandigarh Lions, Bengaluroo Blazers, Delhi Jets, Lahore Badshahs and Chennai Super Stars.
