In a communication to Salman Khan, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged the actor to withdraw the name of Khan Market from his web portal khanmarketonline.com, which he announced on his 50th birthday on December 27.
Underlining the “importance of Khan Market as a premium commercial market of not only Delhi, but even at a national and international level”, the CAIT has reiterated the argument previously made by the Khan Market Traders Association who have even threatened to sue the actor.
A name by custom/practice/usage over a long period of time by a group of persons becomes the Intellectual Property right of that Group of Persons and is an integral part of the Principle of Natural Justice. Accordingly, the first lien of using the name “Khan Market” lies with traders of Khan Market only.
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Citing Khan Market in itself as a brand, the CAIT has said that this status and the “goodwill” of Khan Market has not been earned overnight but has taken years of sweat, toil, effort, enormous investments and extensive resources put in by traders of the market in the last 65 years and backed by the faith and patronage of customers from all strata of society in India including the elite, international visitors, embassies and tourists of Delhi.
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According to a December 2015 report by global real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield, Khan Market is the most the expensive retail location in India and 24th worldwide. The report says that the “demand for retail space in Khan Market has remained steady owing to its upscale location and current occupier profile.”
With Rs 1250 per sq/ft rental, Khan Market is followed by Connaught Place (Rs 850 per sq/ft) and South Extension and DLF Galleria in Gurgaon (Rs 750 per sq/ft) in the National Capital Region.
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