It took me 5 years, but we did it. We succeeded in convincing India’s Patent & Trademarks office that The Bohri Kitchen & TBK are the property of my company.

The Registrar refused our application multiple times in the last few years under the contention that Bohri is a community and hence cannot be trademarked. The lawyer representing us was convinced that it’s now impossible to push a ruling in our favour. I was heartbroken.

For the final hearing at The Trademarks & Patents Office in Antop Hill, I represented myself in person.

I first introduced myself as the Chief Eating Officer of The Bohri Kitchen and gave him my visiting card with our branding on it. Then I gave him a beautifully branded bottle of TBK Khajur Chutney (I call this a 30 day visiting card). I placed the issue of Forbes Magazine with me on the cover, innocently right next to the jar of chutney.

I argued that Bohri is actually not a community. It’s slang for the actual community, the Dawoodi Bohra. Slang is not public property by default. I supplemented this with 100+ news paper cuttings, INR 7 Crs+ worth of PR coverage that clearly enforced that The Bohri Kitchen is a by-product in every rational way to my team’s, families and my own blood and sweat in the last 5 years.

And just like that we won the case and he won himself an invitation to a meal at my house.

Introducing – The Bohri Kitchen® & TBK®