After Operation Sindoor, the latest rush on the trademark registry is for claiming monopoly over various wordmarks related to the Ahmedabad Air India plane crash on June 12, in which 260 people were killed.
On June 14, two days after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as Air India’s AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after take-off, a trademark application for the wordmark ‘Flight 171’ was filed by a practising chartered accountant based in Rajasthan’s Udaipur. Deepanshu Agrawal sought trademark registration in his favour under Class 41 for the use of the wordmark in areas such as entertainment, film production, cultural activities, and web series production.
A trademark gives its owner the rights to monopolise the name for movies and TV shows, among other forms of content. Section 11 of the Trademark Act also states that the first to use or the first to file for registration will be granted the trademark.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Agarwal said, “We did not file for the wordmark ‘AI 171’ as Air India or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may claim rights over it, and we have weighed all pros and cons. We do not want to use it particularly for business purposes. Many have lost their lives. One person came to perform the final rites for his wife. The Gujarati community came forward, and there are a lot of emotional stories. We don’t want to use it solely for business benefit, although we could.”
Agarwal said a part of the earnings from the use of the trademark, if his application is allowed, will go as a contribution to the families of the plane crash vicitms. “We are already in talks with some big companies for film production and with educational institutions. Hopefully, in a month, the deal will come to fruition. We do not want to play with the victims’ emotions,” he added.
On June 15, Agrawal filed another trademark application seeking rights over the wordmark ‘Seat 11A’, also under Class 41. Viswashkumar Ramesh, the sole survivor in the Ahmedabad Air India plane crash, was seated on 11A.
“Past airplane crashes also have this theory that seat 11A is a miracle seat. We have the first mover advantage here,” Agrawal said.
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On June 19, a resident of Jodhpur, Sagar Dhanadiya, also filed an application under Class 41 for the trademark ’11A’.
On June 14, Noida-based Ankit Rohilla filed a Class 41 trademark application for the wordmark ‘AI171’ for use in services relating to education and training programmes, skill development workshops, professional certification programmes, online learning platforms, and entertainment services “as well as cultural initiatives including exhibitions, festivals, and heritage promotion activities”.
On June 18, a trademark application was submitted for ‘Last Flight AI 171’ by a Punjab resident, Darshpreet Kaur, for use of the wordmark in areas of education, entertainment, sporting and cultural activities.
After Operation Sindoor, several people sought to trademark the codename for India’s military strikes against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. Prominent among them was Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)’s film studio arm, Jio Studios, which quickly withdrew the application, saying it was filed “inadvertently”.
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