RIL aborts Operation Sindoor trademark bid

After backlash, Reliance says filing by junior staffer was not authorized

- Manas Pimpalkhare & Lata Jha

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) applied for but later withdrew its application for a trademark for "Operation Sindoor", the code-name for India's strike against terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Jio Studios, a unit of Reliance Industries, said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that the application had been filed inadvertently by a junior person without authorization. Reliance Industries has no intention of trademarking Operation Sindoor, a phrase which is now part of the national consciousness as an evocative symbol of Indian bravery.

Reliance had applied for the word-type trademark under Class 41 on 7 May, the day of the military operation, information from the commerce ministry's trademark search portal showed. The firm's media and entertainment division offers news, entertainment, sports, movies and live entertainment across content formats.