Can Intellectual Property Rights Save Pune's Heritage?

In a unique development, the pride of Pune’s may be protected by the Itellectual Property Rights, if all comes out as planned. Following in the footsteps of other cities, the Maharatta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) is finding the ways to protect city’s heritage with IPR.

MCCIA and Janwani, recently held a workshop on the subject. It was a part of the ongoing Heritage Week celebrations under Virasat Pune initiative of these bodies. According to these organisations, the objective of the exercise was to brainstorm and identify the ways in which the tangible and intangible assets in the cultural and natural heritage of Pune can be protected.

Those who addressed the workshop included Priyank Gupta, Amol Ghadge and Vithika Sharma. Priyank Gupta, manager, IPR at Legasis Services, told Pune Mirror, “There has been attempts all over the world to preserve own culture and heritage. Pune has recorded two major events where it lost a large chunk of its history – one was when the Shaniwar Wada was burned during 1890s and then floods in 1961 wiped out many wadas and historical documents. We want to prevent this to happen again.”

To prevent such losses, Ghadge, a patent & trademark attorney, proposed to digitise the heritage items. Also, Sharma suggested to form a City Mark depicting the city’s identity with a known monument or product. “Like Puneri Pagdi, some of jewelleries or handicraft which may not be visible in the city may be found in the digital archives so that young generation can access and know them,” he said.

Gupta pointed to Birmingham where the city council has archived all newspapers and documented all family trees of the citizens. This facilitates people to trace their ancestry.