Who owns the Sensex?

By Pooja Meswani, CNBC-TV18

The Sensex has sparked off a sensational battle. A veteran stock market analyst has filed a case against the BSE, claiming that he owns the name.

Deepak Mahukar Mohoni, a stock trader, is sensitive about BSE’s sensitive index's nickname the 'Sensex'. He says he owns the word and asserts to have coined the term in one of his articles way back in 1989. However, the Bombay Stock Exchange or 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 BSE to withdraw its trademark application.

“Until 1995, as far as I know the BSE did not 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. I found out that they are trying to register a trademark on a term they have not coined and that is 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 is when I filed a case in the Court against them,” said Deepak Mohoni, Stock market analyst.

Mohoni maintains that the word "Bombay Sensitive Index" was clumsy and long. And, that's why he hit upon the idea of inventing the word "Sensex". In fact, he even started using it regularly in his reports and periodicals. His petition to the court claims, "Mohoni, in the course of using the said term, was widely acclaimed and recognized as the inventor of the word "Sensex".

“If an allegedly conflicting trademark can exist without any confusion or challenge 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 didn’t use the trademark, so registration is not a must here,” said Anup Narayanan, Partner, Majumdar and Co International Lawyers.

But there's a twist in the tale. BSE claims to have started using the 'Sensex' in 1986 to denote the index calculated on a "market capitalization-weighted" methodology of 30 stocks. It also claims to have registered the trademark in the United States. 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.