Advisor to PM for Commerce, Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has disclosed that Pakistan has succeeded in cancelling the illegal registration of ‘Kernal’ for trademark by an overseas rice company.
“I am glad to share that we have achieved the cancellation of illegal registration of the trademark “Kernal” by a rice company overseas,” informed Dawood in a tweet on Tuesday.
“This was tantamount to unfair use of intellectual property of Pakistan, as the word is similar to Super Kernel, a premium Pakistani rice variety,” he said. The minister thanked the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) for bringing the issue to the Ministry of Commerce’s notice. “I urge exporters to keep informing MOC of such violations so that we can protect Pakistan’s intellectual property overseas,” he added.
I am glad to share that we have achieved cancelation of illegal registration of the trademark “KERNAL” by a rice company overseas. This was tantamount to unfair use of intellectual property of Pakistan, as the word is similar to SUPER KERNEL, a premium Pakistani rice variety. 1/2
— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) December 8, 2020
The Ministry of Commerce was informed of the issue on August 6 by Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) in a letter seeking a diplomatic resolution of the issue with the Saudi government.
The ministry was informed that a Saudi Arabia-based rice export company had illegally registered the word ‘Kernal’ as a brand name which is similar to ‘Super Kernel’ — a premium rice variety grown in Pakistan.
The adviser did not mention the name of the country or company which had sought trademark registration in his tweets, however, according to a report by Dawn, interactions with senior officials in various ministries confirmed that the registration had happened in Saudi Arabia.
This is the second time that a Saudi company has attempted to illegally monopolise the well-known ‘Kernel’ rice trademark; the first being in 2003.
What was illegal about registering the word “Kernal” which means:
kernel (ˈkɜːnəl)
n
1. (Botany) the edible central part of a seed, nut, or fruit within the shell or stone
2. (Botany) the grain of a cereal, esp wheat, consisting of the seed in a hard husk
3. the central or essential part of something
vb, -nels, -nelling or -nelled, -nels, -neling or -neled
(intr) rare to form kernels.
Just because the word “Kernal” sounds like “Kernel” doesn’t make its use illegal.
Has Pakistan trademarked the word “Kernel” anywhere in the world? NO.