Taj Mahal Palace becomes first Indian building to get trademarked

Mumbai: In a proud moment for India, the 114-year-old Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai on Monday got its name registered in the elite and small club of trademarked properties in the world.

The Taj Mahal Palace has joined the Empire State Building in New York, Eiffel Tower in Paris and Sydney Opera House by getting trademarked.

Ever since the Trademark Act came into existence in 1999, usually logos, brand names, numerals, combinations of colours and even sounds are trademarked, but an architectural design has never been attempted to be registered.

"We have done this to protect the distinctiveness of the building," said Rajendra Misra, general counsel of Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which runs the Taj Mahal Palace. The property which has been defining the structure of Mumbai's skyline is the flagship of the company and has been a major contributor to its Rs 2,391 crore revenues.

The Taj Mahal Palace was built back in 1903 even before the Gateway of India. It used to act as a triangulation point for the Indian Navy that showed the way towards the harbour.

Amid the World War I, the property, which was constructed by IHCL chairman Cyrus Mistry's family firm Shapoorji Pallonji & Co, was transformed into a hospital.

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The unique red-tiled Florentine gothic dome which crowns the Indo-Saracenic arches and architraves of the hotel was majorly targeted by the terrorists during the 2008-terror attacks in Mumbai and it soon became the symbol of the deadly attacks.

"Now-a-days, most of the hotels are cookie-cutters. There are not many which are designed differently," said Misra, adding that his company had been working hard since past seven months to get the structure registered.

After the Taj Mahal Palace getting trademarked by IHCL, nobody can use the image of the building for commercial purposes without playing the company a licensing fee.