On Friday (26th September), the Madras High Court has asked actor-turned-politician Vijay and his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), to respond to a petition claiming that the party’s flag has been copied from another organisation’s design.
The case was brought by GB Pachaiyappan, who runs a trust called Thondai Mandala Saandror Dharma Paribalana Sabai. He alleged that TVK’s flag, unveiled in August 2024, looks very similar to the one used by his trust. Pachaiyappan said that the design is not only a registered trademark but also qualifies for copyright protection as an original artistic work.
What the trust claims
As per Pachaiyappan, the flag of the trust was designed in 2023 and is a red-yellow-red tricolour with a round design at the centre. He applied for trademark registration on 28th November, 2023, under Class 45, dealing with personal and social services. The application was subsequently approved and the mark was registered on 1st June, 2024.
The trademark also includes the trust’s name in Tamil, Thondai Mandala Saandror Dharma Paribalana Sabai, along with the tagline VAAZHGA TAMIL, VALARGA THALAIMURAI, which translates to “Long Live Tamil – Grow Up Generation.”
Pachaiyappan said his trust has been using this flag in different activities, such as publishing a Tamil magazine called Saandror Kural and running a YouTube channel of the same name. He argued that TVK’s use of a flag that looks so similar could confuse the public and amount to both trademark and copyright infringement.
The trust has asked the court to ban TVK from using its current flag and has also demanded ₹5 lakh in damages.
TVK’s defence
TVK has categorically rejected the allegations. The party argued that although there could be some resemblance between the two flags, their appearance is different and imbued with significance.
TVK reported that its flag comprises elephants in the centre, a vaagai flower, and certain colours like maroon and yellow, each of which was selected because of its symbolic significance.
The party also pointed out that Pachaiyappan’s trust and TVK work in completely different fields, so there should not be any confusion among the public.
Court proceedings
Earlier, on 18th August, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy of the Madras High Court examined the case and stated that, at first glance, TVK’s flag did not appear to be copied from the trust’s design. The judge therefore refused to pass an interim order stopping TVK from using its flag.
Unhappy with this decision, Pachaiyappan and his trust filed an appeal before a Division Bench of the High Court. On Friday, (26th September), a Bench of two Justices, G Jayachandran and Mummineni Sudheer Kumar, heard the matter. They directed Vijay and TVK to file their response within six weeks.
At the same time, the Bench clarified that a single-judge Bench can continue with hearings on the main trademark dispute and even deliver a final verdict, regardless of any appeal.
