Khadi India ramps up drive to register its brand overseas

After fighting a welter of legal battles in India over its ‘Khadi’ trademark, KVIC has recently applied to register its logo and name in Mexico where other businesses are vying to use the same name.

Rivaled by a local entity in Mexico intending to use the ‘Khadi’ brand name and logo, The Indian government’s Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has contested by filing the application to register itself in order to protect the identity of artisans. Mexican entity has not yet been able to register owing to the to KVIC’s objections and Mexican authorities have recognised the Khadi logo and brand as having a claim to by KVIC.

From the last couple of years, KVIC has been waging a legal battle against many domestic  counterfeits using the ‘Khadi’ trademark. Now with increasing popularity in foreign markets, the organisation is ramping up its drive to register its brand in other countries with the objective of stretching its reach in international handloom distribution.

As per the statement given by the chairman of KVIC, Vinai Kumar Saxena, “In view of Khadi’s ever-growing popularity in India and globally, it has become very important for KVIC to protect the brand.”

“For the first time in the last five years, KVIC has made aggressive bids to safeguard Khadi from any misuse. These efforts have yielded significant results and helped Khadi’s sales grow by a big margin in the last few years. Khadi’s trademark registrations are essentially to prevent khadi from duplication and safeguard the interest of our artisans, ” added Saxena.

Apart from this the organisation had its brand recognized by local authorities in the UAE and is also in the talks with concerned authorities to register its brand in Nepal, Japan, Myanmar, and Brazil.

Cover image by Khadio Axaca