Who is responsible for creating the trade mark „OSHO“?


The proprietor of the contested Community trade mark, Osho International Foundation, is a Swiss nonprofit corporation, incorporated in 1984 as Rajneesh Foundation Europe. It later changed its name to Neo-Sannyas Internation Foundation, and still later in 1990 to Osho International Foundation.

Soon after Osho’s death in 1990 attempts were made to monopolize the legacy of Osho: his art, his unique signatures and even meditation techniques were applied for trade marks in USA and other countries, while Osho’s name was used by people connected to him to refer to his vision, teachings, meditations and lifework and their work that had been inspired by him and his teachings in general ever since Osho had taken his name in 1989. This attempt failed when the US trade marks were cancelled respectively rejected for genericness / descriptiveness.

Ten years after Osho had taken the name „Osho“, the proprietor of the contested CTM tried to usurp Osho’s name also across the European Union by registering it inter alia as the contested Community trade mark no. 1 224 832 „OSHO“. It was obvious that at that time, the name of Osho had broadly been used as a reference to his vision, teachings, meditations and lifework and goods and services inspired by him and his teachings in general, and that the latter goods and services had been produced independently by hundreds of individuals and meditation centers.

Nevertheless, by monopolizing the name of Osho being the found of a new world-view / philosophy, the proprietor of the contested CTM is trying to get control over the content of meditations, therapies and teachings as well as the underlying world-view, vision and philosophy, allowing it to purport in its own discretion what may be referred to as the right interpretation of Osho’s vision and teachings. Registering „OSHO“ was simply about the attempt of a small group of would-be leaders to put themselves in the place of Osho and to get control over people connected to and inspired by Osho and their independent work by monopolizing the key descriptor that puts into one word an entire mysticism. Osho himself never purported to do this during his lifetime.
 

NOTE: The above section is taken from the first formal submission
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