A prominent food writer found herself at the centre of a bewildering legal dispute last month, after a chain of delis threatened her with action over the title of her vegetarian cookbook. The contentious word? 'Sabzi' – the Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Dari and Pashto term for cooked vegetables or fresh greens.
A Threatening Legal Letter
Yasmin Khan, an author of Pakistani and Iranian heritage, was preparing to publish her book Sabzi: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes for Every Day with Bloomsbury when a solicitor's letter arrived. It was forwarded by her editor and accused her of infringing the intellectual property of a deli owner from Cornwall. The deli owner had trademarked the word 'sabzi' in 2022 for her business and potential future products, including a possible cookbook.
The legal documentation demanded intrusive commercial details about Khan's work, including sales revenue and distribution contracts. Most shockingly, it reserved the right to seek the 'destruction' of all items relating to the alleged infringement – a direct threat to have her books pulped. For Khan, this was both devastating and enraging, given the word's deep cultural roots.
The Cultural Weight of a Common Word
'Sabzi' is not an invented brand name but part of the daily lexicon for over a billion people. In South Asian households, it simply means cooked vegetables. In Iran, 'sabzi' refers to fresh herbs and greens, central to the national dish ghormeh sabzi and the celebrations of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Khan chose the title to honour the two food cultures she grew up with.
Legal advice obtained by her publishers was clear: the claims were overreaching. Book titles themselves cannot be trademarked, and common cultural words should be exempt from such intellectual property claims. The alleged evidence of business harm was weak. However, the dispute escalated rapidly beyond legal channels.
Public Pile-On and Colonial Echoes
The deli owner took the case public on social media, framing it as a David-versus-Goliath battle and sparking a pile-on against Khan from predominantly white women in Cornwall. The dispute was amplified by a PR company, leading to national press coverage. Crucially, the deli owner also reported Khan's book for trademark infringement on Amazon, causing it to vanish from the platform just before Christmas – a major blow to any author's livelihood.
In a twist described by Khan as 'so colonial', a letter arrived from the Duchy of Cornwall – the feudal estate of the Prince of Wales – arguing in support of the deli owner's right to the trademark. For Khan, this involvement laid bare the legacy of entitlement at the heart of British colonialism.
Part of a Wider Pattern of Appropriation
Khan's case is not isolated. It fits a decades-long pattern where companies in the global north, backed by Western IP laws, attempt to control food terms from the global south. Examples include the restaurant chain Pho trying to trademark the Vietnamese noodle soup name, David Chang's Momofuku empire attempting to trademark 'chili crunch', and US company RiceTec's bid to patent 'Basmati' rice.
Farmers and activists have fought similar 'biopiracy' cases over seeds and plants, like teff from Ethiopia and rooibos from South Africa. These battles raise fundamental questions about who gets to own and profit from traditional food culture.
Solidarity and a Quiet Resolution
While Khan's lawyers advised silence, the UK food world rallied publicly to her defence. Respected writers including Nigella Lawson, Olia Hercules, and Rachel Roddy posted arguments about why food culture belongs to everyone. This public pressure, combined with the weak legal standing of the claim, led to a shift. The deli owner eventually dropped the case and withdrew the trademark application.
Khan's book was reinstated on online retailers. While there has been no formal apology, she views the outcome as a win for those who resist the commodification of their cultures. She now hopes the case prompts reflection within the UK Intellectual Property Office, calling for greater cultural literacy among trademark examiners and safeguards against privatising common words.
Sabzi: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes for Everyday by Yasmin Khan is published by Bloomsbury (£26).
