The Delhi High Court recently cleared the way for American fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to proceed with the registration of “Chicken Zinger” as a trademark.
To that end, Justice Sanjeev Narula set aside a December 2018 order by the Senior Examiner of Trademarks refusing to accept KFC’s trademark application for “Chicken Zinger.”
According to Section 9(1)(b) of the Trademark Act, the Trademark officer refused to accept KFC’s application because “Chicken Zinger” was a descriptive term and thus ineligible to be classified as a trademark.
This order was challenged by KFC before the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court highlighted that the use of the words “Zinger” and “Chicken” could only be considered suggestive of the product.
Other trademarks that KFC has registered include Zinger, Hot Zinger, Paneer Zinger, Zinger Festival, and Tower Zinger. It also has the registration of ‘Chicken Zinger’ but in Class 30.
“CHICKEN” and “ZINGER” are the subject mark’s two words. “ZINGER” means “a thing outstandingly good of its kind” or “a wisecrack; punch line” or “a surprise question; an unexpected turn of events” in the dictionary. The use of “ZINGER” in conjunction with “CHICKEN” does not draw an immediate connection with the type of goods/services and may be considered suggestive at best,” the Court reasoned.
The Court also noted that KFC already held trademark registrations for other marks containing the word “Zinger” in the same class under which the trademark for “Chicken Zinger” was sought (Class 29).
As a result, the Court stated that the objection to the registration of the trademark “Chicken Zinger” may have submitted from the use of the generic word “Chicken.”
The Court clarified that KFC could not assert an exclusive claim to the term “Chicken,” and that KFC had not sought such a right.
Thus, the judge granted KFC’s appeal and set aside the Trade Mark Registry’s December 2018 order.
The Trademark authorities were directed to advertise the trademark applied for, that is, “Chicken Zinger” in the trademark journal within three months, along with a disclaimer that KFC has no exclusive rights over the term “Chicken”.
