A writ petition has been filed before the Madras High Court on the grant of a trademark on the image of the deity 'Kannagi Amman'. The petition seeks quashing of the order granting a trademark over the image of a deity and also the order granting a GI tag to the Tirupati Laddu.

The Petitioner, J. Mohanraj claims that the grant of a trademark to the deity creates a commercial monopoly over a historic personality who is now revered as a goddess. The Attukal Temple is popularly referred to as the 'sabrimala of women', which it earned after a record number of women visited the temple. The petition alleges that the trustees of the Attukal temple applied for and obtained a trademark not only over the image of the deity, but also the sobriquet.

The petition alleges that the trademark granted earlier this year, was classified as 'temple services', a classification not defied in the Trademarks Act. The Petition further alleges that the authorities have, by virtue of granting a trademark to the image of the deity, equated a place of worship with that of a business establishment, and consider devotees as potential users.

The same petition also seeks to revoke the grant of the GI tag to the 'Tirupati Laddu'. The Petition points out that the authorities have considered the Laddu as an industrial good, equating the temple offerings to manufactured goods. The petitioner is represented by local advocate, Manikandan Vathan Chettiar, of Additional Law chambers. The matter is scheduled to come up for hearing tomorrow.

A copy of the petition is available here.

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