PURI: In a significant move that would secure cultural symbols associated with Shree Jagannath Temple, the temple administration has secured wordmark registrations for “Ananda Bajara” and “Patitapabana” and logomark registration of the Nilachakra logo under the Trade Marks Act.
Chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Arabinda Padhee on Wednesday said that the temple administration had noticed that certain individuals and institutions were using these sacred religious names and symbols for commercial purposes. To prevent their misuse, the temple managing body resolved to obtain trademark protection for terms and symbols closely linked to Lord Jagannath and authorised the chief administrator to take the necessary steps.
Accordingly, the administration applied for trademark registration of 29 names, terms and symbols associated with the Jagannath tradition. In the first phase, logomark registration has been granted for the Nilachakra logo and the wordmarks “Ananda Bajara” and “Patitapabana,” Padhee said.
This comes a day after the West Bengal government announced that the insignia ‘Dham’ will be removed from the Lord Jagannath Temple at Digha which was inaugurated by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee in April last year.
The announcement came in response to a letter written by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi requesting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to remove the word ‘Dham’ from the temple at Digha. The letter was delivered to Adhikary at Kolkata by Puri MP Sambit Patra.