Logos of Darjeeling Toy Train as Intellectual Property

• 08 Nov 2021

Why in News

Recently, India has finally registered the logos (two) of the iconic ‘Toy Train’ internationally as its intellectual property.

• The claim for registration was sent to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) with the procedure laid down in WIPO’s Vienna Classification (VCL). There is a six-month window to register any counter-claims, following which the Indian government’s claim will receive international approval.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The use of these logos anywhere in the world will now require written permission from India and the payment of a fee.
  • The DHR has two logos, both of which have been patented. The process of registering the logo with the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry was initiated in August 2021. It was then sent to the WIPO. 
  • Both logos are over a century old, and popular in world heritage circuits.
  • They are used randomly on merchandise and communications materials by various commercial organisations in Europe, the UK and the US; even the West Bengal government has used it in communications and on merchandise in the past.
  • Significance: This will put the Darjeeling Toy Train’s ‘Iron Sherpa’ blue steam locomotives on the same pedestal as the legendary transalpine Rhaetian Railway in Switzerland, and is likely to boost its recognition and prominence around the world.
• DHR:
  
  • DHR was built in the British era between 1879 and 1881.
  • It is located in the foothills of the Himalayas in West Bengal.
  • It is the most outstanding example of a hill passenger railway. Its design applies bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty.
  • It was declared a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site in 1999.
    
    • Other Mountain Railways Declared as World Heritage Sites:
      
      • Nilgiri Mountain Railways located in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu (South India) (2005)
      • Kalka Shimla Railway located in the Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh (Northwest India) (2008).

WIPO’s Vienna Classification

• VCL is an international classification system established in 1973 by the Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks, and administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
  
  • WIPO is one of the oldest specialized agencies of the United Nations. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It consists of a hierarchical system that proceeds from the general to the particular, classifying the figurative elements of marks into categories, divisions and sections, on the basis of their shape.

Source: IE