[lallu]

BAD BAD BAD NEWS

CFAI loses trademark for CFA course

NEW DELHI: The almost decade-old trademark war between Hyderabad-based Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst of India (ICFAI) and the US-based Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFAI) has taken a new turn with the trademark registry cancelling the trademark awarded to the CFA course conducted by CFAI.

G L Verma, deputy registrar of trademarks, in a recent order said that the trademark issued to CFAI (formerly known as Association of Investment Management and Research) on July 13, 2005 was in contravention of rules and had thus been cancelled. "The trademark shall be re-advertised in the Trade Marks journal giving proper opportunity to the general public to file the notice of opposition if any," he added.

A trademark enables a student to officially use the CFA designation. Without it, the course loses its sheen. CFAI and ICFAI had initially operated jointly in offering the course in India.

After falling out in 1998, both institutes applied for trademark registration. CFAI got its trademark registered in 2005, which was opposed by ICFAI. According to ICFAI media manager R S Prasad, "CFAI, in advertisement published in the Trade Marks journal in 2003, mentioned its address as ICFAI, Plot No. 52, Nagarjuna Hills, Hyderabad - 500 082. This is actually ICFAI's address. They did this to misguide the public and the registrar office as ICFAI had also applied for the same trade mark."

CFAI loses trademark for CFA course-India-The Times of India

[pirates_???]

does anyone knows what happened today?????

[ash mba]

hi ..
i m asha..
i m doing mba currently..
i m taking up finance as my part of specialisation...
i thought of taking up cfa..
but after reading this forum i want to know whether it would really be worth it..
i mean will it be recognised...???????????

regards ,
asha...

[veyron]

Originally Posted by ash mba

hi ..
i m asha..
i m doing mba currently..
i m taking up finance as my part of specialisation...
i thought of taking up cfa..
but after reading this forum i want to know whether it would really be worth it..
i mean will it be recognised...???????????

regards ,
asha...

Don't take it, its not recognized, and I am very much taking it up this dec-07

[kantism]

Originally Posted by veyron

Don't take it, its not recognized, and I am very much taking it up this dec-07

"CFA" designation is still valid as ever. Just that CFAI has lost its exclusive right to use CFA designation. This, however, is still under discussion. Right to operate in India is however granted to CFAI by Supreme Court. (Not very sure. Request to double-check this).

Having said that, the ever going courtroom battle is a nagging problem.

i would request you to wait and watch for a while. Request our CFA-gurus (aka Rajat, etc.) to post some encouraging words. ??:

[ash mba]

is it really not worth????? then should i need an additional examinstead of that..?
some of them take up ca, thn few icwa, etc...
i really dont know importance of this....

[shwshwets]

Contrary to what is being popularly being hyped in the media, CFAI has niether lost its trademark in india and nor ICFAI has been allowed to use its designation in USA.

Read the following:

Has CFA Institute lost its trademark rights in India?

Not at all. Contrary to some misleading news reports, CFA Institute trademark rights to the “CFA” and “Chartered Financial Analyst” brands have been recognized in India by the Delhi High Court. Further, the Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction ordering ICFAI and its affiliated Council of Chartered Financial Analysts to stop using CFA Institute trademarks. The Deputy Registrar of Trade Marks did recently determine that a trademark registration issued to CFA Institute for the “CFA” brand must be republished due to an error by the Trade Marks Registry. CFA Institute has numerous trademark applications on file with the Trade Marks Registry, and CFA charterholders from CFA Institute are free to use the “CFA” and “Chartered Financial Analyst” marks throughout India.



Is there an injunction against ICFAI in the United States?

Yes. The 1998 injunction issued by a United States federal court was reinstated on 4 September 2007 (PDF). In May 2007, the injunction was vacated because it appeared to the judge that he did not have personal jurisdiction over ICFAI at the time of the original judgment in 1998. CFA Institute filed a motion to reconsider that decision, and the judge agreed with our arguments and reinstated the 1998 injunction against ICFAI. As a result, ICFAI, including its members and students, is required to abide by its 1995 agreement to stop using CFA Institute trademarks in the United States.

Source:

• http://www.kprofessionals.com/phorum/read.php?8,484,page=1
• http://www.cfainstitute.org/aboutus/worldwide/asiapac/indiaFAQ.html

[kantism]

Originally Posted by shwshwets

Contrary to what is being popularly being hyped in the media, CFAI has niether lost its trademark in india and nor ICFAI has been allowed to use its designation in USA.

Read the following:.....

Oops... ??:
this will really go a long way in cheering me up!!!
However, the dilemma is: "Whom to believe and whom not to???"
anyways will continue with my prep for the dec exam and i hope they do get clearance for conducting the exam in India.

Any smarts tips to share as we inch closer the scheduled date??

[baldeagle007]

Hope there will be an exam. There is nothing formally announced yet.
I havent even registered yet, but i want to register and give the exam in dec 07.

Lets hope for the best

[RKA]

From CFA Institute Home

13 September Update

The Delhi High Court continues to hear arguments in our writ petition against the AICTE order. The hearing is scheduled to continue Friday, 14 September 2007.

Hope there is a verdict atleast tomorrow.

Regards,
RKA