Companies rush to trademark 'Operation Sindoor' following military strike

Reliance Industries, owned by Mukesh Ambani, filed a trademark application with the Trade Marks Registry on Wednesday (May 7) to register "Operation Sindoor" as a work mark under Class 41 for education and entertainment services.

The corporate giant isn't alone in this pursuit. Three individuals—Mukesh Chetram Agrawal, retired Group Captain Kamal Singh Oberh, and Alok Kothari—have simultaneously submitted their own applications to claim rights to the term.

This trademark scramble comes immediately after Indian armed forces used the "Operation Sindoor" designation for overnight strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 6-7. The military action was conducted in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 25 Indian citizens.

The Ministry of Defence described the operation as "focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature," emphasising that "no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted."

The rush to secure intellectual property rights to a military operation name demonstrates how quickly companies and individuals move to capitalise on terms that suddenly gain national significance.