The Surrogate Advertisement (Prohibition) Bill, 2016, which prohibits advertisement of substitute product in pretext of a real one introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2017, is yet to be approved. The Maharashtra State Government taking a stern view of surrogate advertisements has written to the Trademark Office of the Central Government to provide details of Vishnu & Company Trademarks Pvt. Ltd. (Vimal Pan Masala brand amongst others) and products the brand is registered under. The State has sought details of three trademarks- 'Dane Dane Me Kesar Ka Dum', Vimal (Hindi logo) and Vimal (English logo) from the Trademark Office to determine whether the same are registered under the tobacco or cardamom class. Surrogate advertisements of flavoured and scented tobacco are both banned in Maharashtra. Vimal's few registered trademarks such as Pan Masala, Red, Apna, Jhatka and Signature are registered as "tobacco products and smokers' articles". Its other products such as Elaichi, Kesaria and Gold are registered as agricultural products.
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