Coke Studio vs Cook Studio: row over name and trademark

New Delhi: Coke studio, the famous music franchise has recently been involved in a trademark row with a food blogger over his use of the name 'cook studio'. The food blogger Nikhil Chawla has filed a case against The Coca Cola Company, which owns the 'Coke Studio' trademark, for sending him a notice demanding him not to use the name.

Justice Pratibha M Singh of the Delhi High Court has asked both parties to appear for mediation to resolve the trademark issue before the Mediation Centre.

"It appears to this court that an attempt ought to be made to amicably resolve this dispute through mediation in the first place. Accordingly, both parties are referred to the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre on May 31, 2022 at 4 pm," said the court.

According to the Indian Express, The proprietor of the firm The Chawla Group, who owns and runs a platform that produces content related to cooking, The 'Cook Studio' filed a suit with the court under Section 142 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, and seeks for declaring non-infringement of the registered Coke Studio trademark. He had previously received notices from the owners of the Coke Studio that he has infringed upon their name and trademark.

Section 142 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, states that a person can approach the court for declaration of non-infringement in case they receive a notice alleging infringement.

The counsel for The Coca Cola Company stated that "Cook Studio must not be allowed to use the name as that would be infringement of their registered trademark 'Coke Studio'.

But Chawla's counsel maintained that it would not be a violation of the infringement law as the logo and colour comination is completely different from the other party and that the words 'cook' and 'studio' are generic.