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India Today
10-08-2025
- India Today
Amid kabutarkhana row, Mumbai man charged for feeding pigeons on his car roof
A man was booked on Saturday for feeding pigeons from a grain-filled tray kept on the roof of his car in Mumbai's Dadar area, a police official car too has been seized, the Shivaji Park police station official said."Mahendra Sanklecha, a Lalbaug resident, was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on charges of public nuisance, disobedience of the order duly promulgated by public servant, negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life. He has been issued a notice as well," the official The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's decision to ban public feeding of pigeons in view of health hazards associated with the practice and close 'kabutarkhanas' has led to a who feed pigeons have challenged the civic body's decision in the Bombay High Bombay High Court on Thursday said it had not passed any order directing the closure of 'kabutarkhanas' (pigeon-feeding spots) in the city, but only refrained from staying the closure order of the municipal corporation.A committee of experts can study whether the old kabutarkhanas in the city should continue, but "human life is of paramount importance", it said.- Ends
India Today
04-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
India tags it, West sells it. Can Prada's Kolhapuri row lead to real reform?
It took centuries of craft, leather softened by hand, and generations of Kolhapuri artisans to perfect the humble toe-ring chappal. It took Prada just one fashion show in Milan to turn it into a Rs 1.2 lakh runway item, minus the name, the credit, and the community behind the brand was called out on social media for not crediting the artisans actually behind the Kolhapuri chappa, Prada said that the toe-ring sandals were an inspiration. advertisementLorenzo Bertelli, Prada's CSR head, admitted the design was 'inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear, with a centuriesold heritage,' stating they were still in the design phase and that collaboration with local artisans was possible The luxury brand's new 'toe-ring sandal' has ignited not just cultural outrage but also legal action in India, with a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Bombay High court has not taken it up yet, but it asks a simple but urgent question: can India really protect its traditional designs from being recast, renamed, and resold by global giants?GI PROTECTION STOPS AT THE BORDERIndia's most prominent tool to protect traditional goods is the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, which legally recognises unique regional products like Kolhapuri chappals, Banarasi sarees, or Darjeeling tea. However, its effectiveness ends at India's borders.'GI tags protect product names within India but offer little help internationally unless those GIs are registered in the target country,' says Sonal Madan, Partner at Chadha & Chadha IP Law Firm. She adds that this allows foreign brands to reproduce the design or aesthetic without legal consequence, as long as they avoid using the GI-tagged gap is central to the Prada row. The brand never marketed its product as 'Kolhapuri,' which weakens any infringement claim under Indian GI Sahni, Partner at Ajay Sahni & Associates, points out that 'if there is no use of the name of a GI-protected product, there is no infringement of a registered GI.' This is why Prada's statement merely acknowledging 'inspiration from Indian artisans' may deflect legal liability, even if public sentiment remains SHIELD OR PAPER TIGER?While India has registered over 400 GIs, experts argue that the system lacks teeth in practice. 'Many of these GIs are what we call 'vanity GIs'—they exist on paper but lack post-registration infrastructure,' says Swati Sharma, IP head at Cyril Amarchand strong enforcement, quality checks, or global registrations, GI protection becomes symbolic rather than PIL filed in the Bombay High Court stresses that Kolhapuri chappals are not just products but 'cultural symbols of Maharashtra,' with deep economic and emotional links to artisan communities. The petitioners demand that authorities ensure compensation and safeguard the community's rights. However, legal experts warn that without parallel protection in foreign markets, these demands could remain unenforceable COPYRIGHT OR DESIGN LAW FALL SHORTCould copyright or design law offer an alternative path? Not really. Both rely on originality and authorship—criteria poorly suited to community-owned, centuries-old crafts. 'India's existing IP framework offers limited recourse for protecting traditional designs like Kolhapuri chappals under conventional copyright or design law,' says Ankit Sahni. 'They're geared toward individual novelty, not collective heritage.'This creates what experts describe as a legal vacuum: artisan communities often lack ownership documentation, the resources to litigate globally, and the awareness of how to register their work abroad. Even when inspired designs clearly mirror traditional aesthetics, the absence of formal IP registration overseas means there's little legal NOT APPROPRIATIONDespite the legal hurdles, experts stress that the goal isn't to build walls around Indian crafts but to build bridges, from appropriation to ethical collaboration.'When a global brand uses a traditional design without credit or compensation, it devalues the original craft and severs it from its cultural context,' says Swati Sharma.'But if the same brand works with artisans, compensates them, and acknowledges the source, it becomes a mutually beneficial relationship.'This reframing, from protectionism to ethical trade, could open doors for sustainable livelihoods and global recognition. However, for such collaborations to happen, artisans need legal certainty and market infrastructure. Standardised contracts, craft registries, and licencing platforms could all help formalise such GLOBAL TREATY YETOne of the starkest takeaways from this controversy is the lack of a global treaty to protect indigenous designs. 'There's currently no binding international treaty specifically protecting traditional crafts from exploitation,' says Sonal Madan. While WIPO is negotiating frameworks for safeguarding traditional cultural expressions, progress has been TRIPS Agreement provides some GI protection, but it lacks enforceability across jurisdictions, and regional treaties like the Lisbon Agreement only apply to a limited number of countries. Without a global mechanism, enforcement becomes patchy and expensive.'Legal action abroad is theoretically possible, but rarely practical,' Sahni adds. 'Unless the design is registered through copyright, trademark, or GI in that jurisdiction, claims often get dismissed. And few artisan groups can afford cross-border litigation.'A CASE FOR POLICY ACTIONThe PIL in Bombay High Court may not lead to immediate penalties for Prada, but it could serve as a much-needed catalyst for policy reform. Experts argue that the Indian government must take the lead in registering major GIs abroad, particularly in fashion-heavy markets like the EU and the US. Bilateral agreements and trade deals could also include cultural safeguards.'Strategic collaborations with local NGOs, fashion watchdogs, or even diplomatic channels may yield more tangible results than litigation,' Sahni raising consumer awareness, both in India and globally, can create a market for ethically sourced, fairly credited artisan goods. Public pressure, more than court orders, has often driven global brands to retract or apologise in past Prada-Kolhapuri controversy is not an isolated event, it's part of a larger pattern of cultural designs being lifted and commodified by global fashion houses. But it has also spotlighted the gaps in India's protection frameworks and triggered a conversation about what meaningful protection should look Swati Sharma puts it, 'The challenge for India is to build a legal and commercial ecosystem that discourages exploitation and rewards ethical collaboration. Until that happens, traditional artisans will remain vulnerable, even when their work travels the world.'- Ends
