Financial Times

CFA takes ICFAI Lanka to courts
The CFA Institute, a global association which offers the internationally-recognised Chartered Financial Analyst, recently filed a lawsuit in Sri Lanka’s Commercial High Court against the local office of an Indian educational institution for “purportedly offering its unauthorized version of a CFA programme in Sri Lanka along with its other courses.”

The organization in question is the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI). CFA said in a statement that it is also engaged in litigation in India against the ICFAI’s use of the CFA and Chartered Financial Analyst trademarks there. Since 1998, holders of the ICFAI charter have been prohibited by a US Federal court order from using the CFA or Chartered Financial Analyst designations in the United States or Canada.

It said the CFA Institute learned of ICFAI’s plans to expand in Sri Lanka and therefore lodged the trademark infringement and unfair business practice suit seeking an injunction prohibiting all use of the CFA and Chartered Financial Analyst brands by the ICFAI. CFA Institute is the owner of five trademark registrations for the brands in Sri Lanka dating back to 1996.

Rahul Keshap, Associate General Counsel at CFA Institute, was in Sri Lanka this month to attend the CFA examinations and meet with members of CFA Sri Lanka, the growing society of CFA Institute members in Sri Lanka. On the litigation issue, he said:

“The international investment community recognises the international CFA qualification from CFA Institute as the gold standard for investment professionals. By using our name, the ICFAI is taking advantage of that hard-earned and well-deserved reputation. We had no alternative but to take the matter to court, to protect the CFA name and to protect the interests of Sri Lanka’s investment professionals.” The CFA Institute has more than 76,000 members in 119 countries.

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