New Delhi, Jan 23 (KNN) The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has sought international trademark protection for ''Charkha'' symbol used on khadi products.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ministry on Wednesday said that the commission is the registered proprietor of over a hundred trademark registrations, including the symbol of ''Charkha'' in India and other countries like Russia, China, Germany, Australia, UK and Bhutan, .

These trademarks and symbols, it said, have been misused time and again by private players.

"In an initiative to prevent such misuse any further, KVIC has taken up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Permanent Mission of India at UN, Geneva seeking international trademark protection of symbol of ''Charkha'' under the Paris Convention," the ministry said in a statement.

An article of the convention protects armorial bearings, flags and other state emblems as well as official signs and hallmarks of the states.

The signs published with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under this act are prevented from being registered or used as trademarks, across the world, without authorization, it said.

The commission has written to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal seeking his intervention to expedite the matter.

"KVIC is fighting cases in several countries for violation of the khadi mark regulations," it said.

The regulations issued in 2013 by the MSME ministry empower KVIC to grant ''Khadi Mark'' registration and take royalties from any producer using this mark.

"KVIC has issued notices against 600 entities in India, including a renowned garment chain and three entities in the international market, for misusing these symbols and indulging in unfair trade practices in the recent past," it added.

“KVIC is one of those unique institutions in India that links the nation’s past, present and future on its functional plane, through – self-reliance and sustainability. Ever since the pre-independent era, Khadi has been considered as the national symbol for Swadeshi. The word marks "KHADI", "KUTIR", "SARVODAYA" and the logo of Khadi India and Charkha are the harbinger of this spirit of Swadeshi, hence, must be protected at all cost,” said Chairman KVIC, VK Saxena.

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