Opinion In the trademark grab for Operation Sindoor, a reminder of the importance of intellectual property rights
Understandably, the government’s first priority was the success of the mission. But the swiftness with which trademark applications for Operation Sindoor were filed reminds us that IP protection is as important as IP creation
The mission, named Operation Sindoor by the Government of India, also had eye-catching artwork which bore its name in white letters against a black background (Screengrab/ANI) 
In the early hours of May 7, India struck nine terrorist hideouts in Pakistan as a retaliatory measure to the gruesome murder of 26 people by terrorists in Pahalgam on April 22. The mission, named Operation Sindoor by the Government of India, also had eye-catching artwork which bore its name in white letters against a black background. The first O in the word sindoor is depicted as a round vessel full of vermilion (sindoor), with some of it spilling onto the second O. In short, the words Operation Sindoor as well as the artwork qualify as protectable intellectual property (IP), namely, trademark and copyright, of the Indian government.
Within a few hours of the mission, news of about six trademark applications being filed for the mark Operation Sindoor started to circulate in WhatsApp groups and on social media platforms. Interestingly, none of these applications were filed by the relevant ministry of the Indian government. These applications, filed by third parties, were not only for the words Operation Sindoor, but also for copies of the above-described artwork. One applicant from Kerala even gave a twist to the artwork by adding a Malayalam translation — “Sindoora Yuddham” — without perhaps realising that the rights extend to translations and transliterations of trademarks.
While one application was immediately withdrawn, the status of the remaining five is indicated as awaiting a formality check on the portal of the Indian Trade Marks Office (TMO). Undoubtedly, immediately after the launch of the mission, the artwork and words Operation Sindoor came to be exclusively associated with it, not just in India, but across the world. Considering such instant and widespread recognition and association of Operation Sindoor with the mission, these third-party marks have not only violated the IP rights of the government but also demonstrate bad faith in the attempt to monopolise the IP therein and reflect ignorance of the government’s rights.
A social media post by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) expressed disapproval of these applications and indicated that they are liable to be rejected under Section 9(2) (b) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 that precludes registration of trademarks containing any matter likely to hurt the religious susceptibilities of Indians. Based on the reactions on digital media, it would appear that the applications have indeed hurt the sentiments of many Indians.
In the course of their functioning, the central and the state governments of India often create catchwords, phrases and artworks to identify their schemes and events. Many of these become associated with the government very quickly. That also makes them vulnerable to misappropriation by third parties who have no connection whatsoever with the government schemes or events.
The government can certainly mitigate the risk of misuse by copycats in such situations by notifying the public against such misappropriation through certain precautionary steps. For instance, any new slogan, word or logo mark created by the government that is yet to be applied for or pending registration may be accompanied by the letters “TM” (short for trademark) as a superscript. If it is an artwork, a copyright notice may be placed using the sign © along with the year of publication of the artwork and the owner’s name. The government may also register such words and phrases as domain names before announcing them to the public. For instance, upon a quick search, several top-level domain name registrations for “operationsindoor” are already found for .com, .info, .biz, .us, .net and .org, with addresses in the United States and Iceland. It is unclear if the Indian government has filed these.
Among South Asian countries, India leads the way in IP protection. India updates its laws and policies as per international standards and creates a vibrant environment for IP awareness and fostering and nurturing of IP creation and protection. Quite understandably, the first priority of the government for Operation Sindoor was the successful execution of the mission, and not IP protection. However, the swiftness with which these applications got filed on the easy-to-use digital portal of the TMO and the domain name registrations (if owned by third parties) is a reminder to all IP owners, including the government, that IP protection is as important as IP creation. Unfortunately, despite widespread criticism, five of these applicants have still not withdrawn their applications. Let us hope better sense prevails soon.
The writer is an IP lawyer and partner at K&S Partners
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