"For more than a century the Taj dome has anchored the Mumbai skyline...we are very proud to recognise its important role as a symbol of Mumbai"
"Now-a-days, most of the hotels are cookie-cutters. There are not many which are designed differently," said Misra, adding that it took the company seven months to get the structure registered.
With IHCL trademarking the building, nobody can now use Taj Mahal Palace's images for commercial purposes without paying the company a licensing fee. Currently a couple of stores sell merchandise like photo frames and cufflinks with the hotel's pictures on them. In the recent past, the trademarked Empire State Building dragged a New York resident to court for using its image as a beer logo. 1
- 1. Source: Times of India
Mumbai, June 19 (PTI) The iconic Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the city has acquired an `image trademark', making it the first building in the country to get intellectual property rights protection for its architectural design.
It will ensure that commercial use of the image of its dome and grand exterior can be made only with the consent of Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris.
"For more than a century the Taj dome has anchored the Mumbai skyline...we are very proud to recognise its important role as a symbol of Mumbai's people and its past through the trademark," Taljinder Singh, Area Director - Mumbai and General Manager, The Taj Mahal Palace, said.
The dome of The Taj Mahal Palace, which stands on the waterfront in south Mumbai, has long been been `triangulation point' for the Indian Navy which guides its vessels to the harbour.
The distinctive red-tiled Florentine Gothic dome, which crowns the elegant Indo-Saracenic arches and architraves of the hotel, sits 240 feet above the street level. The architects modelled it on the dome of the Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus).
The hotel opened on December 16, 1903.
"We felt strongly about protecting and bringing forth the distinctiveness of this most recognised building in India. It's an icon that stands as the indomitable spirit of not just Mumbai, but India," Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris senior vice president Rajendra Misra said.
"This hotel becomes among the first to get a registration of this kind in the country," Misra said.
The hotel has hosted many eminent personalities, including Neil Armstrong, John Lennon and Barack Obama.