Registrar of Trade Marks v. Ashok Chandra Rakhit — "Shree" Trademark Case

Citation & Court

Registrar of Trade Marks v. Ashok Chandra Rakhit Ltd., AIR 1955 SC 558, Supreme Court of India, decided 15 April 1955 (under the Trade Marks Act, 1940).

The Dispute

Since 1897, a ghee trader had used a mark featuring the word "Shree" written prominently in bold Bengali script. Ashok Chandra Rakhit Ltd. later acquired the goodwill and rights in this mark. On the application for registration, the Registrar required a disclaimer on the word "Shree" — a common honorific widely used by Hindus — as a condition of registering the mark as a whole.

What the Court Held

The Supreme Court upheld the Registrar's power to impose the disclaimer, holding that the purpose of a disclaimer is to define the proprietor's actual rights under the registration — allowing the composite mark to be registered while making clear the proprietor has no exclusive right in the common, non-distinctive word standing alone. This prevents extravagant or unauthorised claims being made on the strength of registration.

How to Use This in Your Reply

This decision concerned the Trade Marks Act, 1940. For a current application, explain the scope of a composite mark using Section 17 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999: registration protects the mark taken as a whole and does not automatically create an exclusive right over a common or non-distinctive component by itself.

Address the actual Section 9 or Section 11 objection with the facts and evidence for your mark. Offering a disclaimer, adding a logo or relying on this judgment does not automatically resolve descriptiveness or a conflict with an earlier mark.

Key takeaway: Distinguish protection for the complete mark from a claim over one common word. Assess whether the complete mark meets the current registration requirements.

Sources

Official WIPO Lex record of the Supreme Court judgment. Read alongside Section 17 of the current Trade Marks Act, 1999. Practical guidance reviewed 8 October 2026.