Hindus object to commercial trademarking of Holi

Hindus have strongly objected to the reported race to trademark Holi, Hindu’s ”festival of colour,” by various organizations in European Union. Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, stressed that it was highly inappropriate to trademark a religious festival which had been a Hindu tradition for long time.

 Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, has urged Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM), which registers the Community Trade Mark (CTM) in the European Union, and its President Antonio Campinos to not allow registration of any Holi CTM and cancel if it has already been done so.

Rajan Zed argued that celebration of Holi festival world-over by anybody/any group was welcome but commercialization, which had been dramatically escalating recently, took the sanctity out of the religious festival and was not appropriate.

 Moreover, Holi is a universal celebration and should not be protected as a trademark, Zed added. Many organizations are reportedly fighting to own the Holi CTM at OHIM, as people world over are becoming fascinated with it.

Joie de vivre festival of Holi welcomes the beginning of spring and starts about ten days before the full moon of Phalguna. The ceremonies include the lighting of the bonfires, during which all evils are symbolically burnt. Holi also commemorates the frolics of youthful Lord Krishna; and celebrates the death of demoness Putana, burning of demoness Holika, and destruction of Kama by Shiva. Holi falls on March 17 in 2014.

OHIM, an agency of European Commission based in Alicante (Spain), is the official trademarks and designs office of the European Union, which registers CTM and Registered Community Design.

Source: Merinews