Under section 3 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, the image of Mahatma Gandhi cannot be used without the prior permission of the government. Apparently, Montblanc had requested permission some months back; however the government had responded with a one line letter stating that under the Act, the image of Mahatma could not be used. Montblanc replied stressing that the Act itself vests discretionary power with the government to permit such usage. It therefore asked that the government “review” its earlier decision.
As per an earlier post from Sumathi, there was some talk of a settlement between Montblanc and the Centre for Consumer Education, an NGO that contested the use of Gandhiji’s image as illegal and against the spirit of what the Mahatma stood for. Under the settlement, Montblanc was to donate almost 900,000 dollars for charitable causes in India.
However, no settlement was recorded in court today. In nay case, such a settlement could not have excused a purported violation of the Emblems and Names Act. One now waits to see the fate of the “review” application filed by Montblanc before the Central Government.
Montblanc is represented by Pravin Anand, India’s leading IP litigator and the NGO contesting the use of Gandhiji’s imagery by Santosh Mathew, one of Kerala’s leading litigators.
