Ottomania University School of Arts becomes the third registered trademark building in India

The Ottomanian University College of Arts Building is located in Hyderabad. File | Image source: Nagara Gopal

The Ottomanian University (OU), the Hyderabad Institute of Art Building, has become the third structure to accept trademark registration in India.

Built in 1939, OU Academy of Arts has long been a symbol of Hyderabad’s rich architectural and educational heritage. Through this trademark registration, the university now has exclusive rights to the building image for any commercial purpose, protecting it from unauthorized reproduction and branding, a press release said.

Subhajit Saha, trademark agent of Resolute Group, which facilitated the application, confirmed that this is only the third instance in India, which has obtained a trademark of the building. The first two are the 2017 Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Mumbai Stock Exchange. He added: “Several iconic structures such as T-Hub and T-Works can also be considered for this route to preserve their unique architectural identity.”

GB Reddy, chair of the University of Ottomania under the Department of Promoting Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), said the trademark would be a guarantee of a “imitation architecture”, a growing practice of imitating established designs.