Reliance Industries withdraws trademark request for term ‘Operation Sindoor’

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) issued a press release here on Thursday stating that it has withdrawn its trademark request for the term ‘Operation Sindoor’, claiming that the application was filed “by mistake”.

According to the company’s press release, a junior employee had submitted the trademark request without proper approval.

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Through its Jio Studios unit, Reliance was the first to file a trademark application to register ‘Operation Sindoor’, only a few hours after India’s armed forces struck Pakistani targets, responding to the Pahalgam terror attack. RIL filed an application seeking to register the name for its ‘goods & services’ under Class 41, which covers entertainment and education services.

Incidentally, three other individuals, namely retired Group Captain K S Oberh, Alok Kothari, and M C Agarwal too had filed similar applications to trademark the term ‘Operation Sindoor’ which enraged social media users who criticised the development.

However, on Thursday, the company sent a letter signed by an RIL executive Rajesh Kumar S, officially withdrawing its application Number 6994264 in Class 41, without assigning any reasons whatsoever to trademark ‘Operation Sindoor’, to the office of the Registrar of Trademarks, Mumbai.

The four trademark applications, with Reliance topping the list, had also figured prominently on the website of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, raising questions on social media about how these trademark claims were even listed in the first place.

“Reliance Industries has no intention of trademarking Operation Sindoor, a phrase which is now a part of the national consciousness as an evocative symbol of Indian bravery,” according to the company statement.

“Jio Studios, a unit of Reliance Industries, has withdrawn its trademark application, which was filed inadvertently by a junior person without authorisation,” according to the Reliance statement.

“Reliance Industries and all its stakeholders are incredibly proud of Operation Sindoor, which came about in response to a Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Operation Sindoor is the proud achievement of our brave armed forces in India’s uncompromising fight against the evil of terrorism. Reliance stands fully in support of our government and armed forces in this fight against terrorism. Our commitment to the motto of ‘India First’ remains unwavering,” the Reliance statement mentioned.