Stock analyst sues BSE, claims he owns 'Sensex'

LOTS IN A NAME: Deepak Mohani says no one should claim exclusive rights over the word Sensex.

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Keywords: Deepak Mahukar Mohoni, Bombay Stock Exchange

Mumbai: Deepak Mahukar Mohoni, a stock trader, is sensitive about Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index's nickname - the Sensex.

He says he “owns” the word, and claims to have coined the term in one of his articles way back in 1989.

However, the BSE had applied for a trademark for the same name in December 2006. Now, just three weeks ago, Mohoni filed a case against the BSE in a Pune court, claiming exclusive rights to the name and asking the stock exchange to withdraw its trademark application.

“Until 1995, as far as I know the BSE didn't use the term at all. One can see their publications because it’s easy to find in the library. They do not carry the term Sensex at all till 1995. Once I tried to find out that they are trying to register a trademark on a term they have not coined, that's the point of time we also filed for a trademark, after which they gave me a notice, that I should withdraw my registration claim. That's when I filed a case in the court against them,” said Mohoni.

Mohoni maintains that the word "Bombay Sensitive Index" was “clumsy” and “long”. And, that's why he hit upon the idea of coining the word "Sensex".

In fact, he even started using it regularly in his reports and periodicals. His petition to the court claims, "Mohini, in the course of using the said term, was widely acclaimed and recognised as the inventor of the word Sensex".

“If an allegedly conflicting trademark can exist without any confusion or challenged from anyone for a long time, it itself weakens any objections against that. In respect of trademarks, registration comes second under the law. The prior use of trademark gives that user superior right, even against a registered proprietor who dint use the trademark, so registration is not a must here,” says Partner, Majumdar and Co Intl Lawyers, Anup Narayanan.

But there's a twist in the tale. The BSE claims to have started using the word "Sensex" in 1986 to denote the index calculated on a "market capitalisation-weighted" methodology of 30 stocks.

It also claims to have registered the trademark in the United States of America. But, Mohoni says he does not have a problem with anyone using the term, as long as no one claims exclusive rights to it.

So, amidst all the volatility, the Sensex is swinging to ups and downs, in the true sense.