Dishoom launches legal battle over cockney rhyming slang for curry

Dishoom has launched a legal challenge to free up the right to use the phrase ‘Ruby Murray’ to describe a curry.

The Telegraph has reported that the restaurant group’s lawyers applied to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on 15 May to try and strip a London businessman of the monopoly of the term for food and drink uses.

IPO filings show that in 2019 Tariq Aziz registered ‘Ruby Murray’ as a food and drink trademark, which also covers curry spices, sauces and mixes.

The name of 1950s Belfast singer Ruby Murray is well known as Cockney rhyming slang for curry.

Dishoom (pictured), which runs 10 Irani café restaurants in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester, has a ‘Ruby Murray’ section of its menu and serves a signature Chicken Ruby curry dish.

Dishoom’s lawyers have claimed the registration should be revoked as Aziz has not used ‘Ruby Murray’ in a commercial way.

A Dishoom spokesperson told The Caterer:  "A third party has a trademark registration for ’Ruby Murray’ and we don’t believe that they have ever used it. There is a principle of "use or lose it" in trademark law and we have therefore asked the UK IPO to remove the ’Ruby Murray’ mark from the register.

"Dishoom is not seeking to apply to register ’Ruby Murray’ in its own name; it wishes to remove the ’monopoly’ on the use of ’Ruby Murray’ so it can be used freely by anyone when referring to curry."

Aziz told the paper he was using the Ruby Murray name for food premises in Islington, north London, which was currently closed for refurbishment, and did not want the trademark to be revoked.

He has until 15 July to inform the IPO if he will defend the right to keep the trademark, otherwise it will be removed from the register.

Dishoom was founded by Shamil and Kavi Thakrar in London’s Covent Garden in 2010 and is eyeing further expansion. Its first spin-off brand, all-day bar the Permit Room, opened in Brighton last year and further sites are planned for Oxford and Cambridge.

Last year, Taco Bell won a lengthy battle to free up ‘Taco Tuesday’ for use in restaurants across the US after a small New Jersey venue relinquished the trademark after 30 years.

In 2020, the Mexican fast food chain attempted to trademark the phrase in the UK to cover restaurant services, but its bid was rejected.