Bhole Baba Milk Food Industries v. Parul Food Specialities — "Krishna" Trademark Case

Citation & Court

Bhole Baba Milk Food Industries Ltd. v. Parul Food Specialities Pvt. Ltd., 2011 (48) PTC 235 (Del.) (DB), Delhi High Court, Division Bench, decided 17 October 2011.

The Dispute

Bhole Baba Milk Food Industries was the registered proprietor of the mark "KRISHNA" — including a label depicting Lord Krishna standing on a lotus flower — for dairy products. It sued a competitor using "PARUL'S LORD KRISHNA," where the word "Krishna" was displayed more prominently than "Parul's" or "Lord."

What the Court Held

The Delhi High Court held that "Krishna," as the name of a Hindu deity traditionally associated with milk and butter, deserved a level of protection akin to a descriptive mark in the context of dairy products, rather than the full protection of a coined or invented mark. A common deity's name connected to the very category of goods being sold could not be monopolised exclusively by one trader.

How to Use This in Your Reply

Directly on point whenever an opposition or objection involves a deity's name, a mythological figure, or another culturally common term — particularly one thematically connected to the goods themselves. Argue that such a name needs the same secondary-meaning evidence any descriptive mark would require, rather than being treated as automatically distinctive.

Key takeaway: Deity and mythological names connected to the product category get descriptive-mark treatment, not automatic full protection.