Delhi HC Allowed KFC To Register "Chicken Zinger" As A Trademark

Case: Kentucky Fried Chicken International Holdings LLC v. The Registrar of Trademarks

Recently, the Delhi High Court allowed the fast-food giant, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), to register the word "Chicken Zinger" as a trademark.

Justice Sanjeev Narula has overturned the Senior Examiner of Trademarks' decision to reject KFC's application to trademark "Chicken Zinger" in December 2018. The Trademarks officer had dismissed KFC's application on the grounds that "Chicken Zinger" was a descriptive term, rendering it ineligible to be considered as a trademark under Section 9(1)(b) of the Trademarks Act.

The same was challenged before the Delhi High Court.

The HC opined that the combination of the words "Zinger" and "Chicken" can only be suggestive of the product, and not descriptive. The Court also noted that KFC had already obtained trademark registrations for other marks containing the word "Zinger" in the same class as the proposed trademark for "Chicken Zinger" (Class 29).

Therefore, the Court reasoned that the objection to the registration of "Chicken Zinger" as a trademark may have arisen from the use of the generic term "Chicken." However, the Court clarified that KFC could not claim an exclusive right over the word "Chicken," and KFC had not attempted to do so.

As a result, the judge allowed KFC's appeal and dismissed the Trade Mark Registry's December 2018 order.

Trademark authorities were instructed to advertise "Chicken Zinger" in the trademark journal within three months, along with a disclaimer that KFC does not own exclusive rights over the term "Chicken".