Culture Ministry to trademark Mashramani

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Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony
Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

During the Mash 2015 Prize Giving Ceremony, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony expressed his desire to have the event trademarked.

The ceremony was held on Tuesday at the National Cultural Centre. The Minister made the declaration in his feature address.

At this event, he expressed the interest of the Ministry to make Mashramani more marketable and self-sufficient.

The Minister stated that companies were posting advertisements about Mashramani, but were not contributing to the festival. He described this act as ‘pirating of the event’ and ‘ambush marketing’.

He also spoke of similar practices being used in the build-up to the Cricket World Cup. The Minister said that steps were being taken to eradicate ‘ambush marketing’ in a move to ensure that contributors to the event get the maximum benefit.

Dr Anthony lamented that the fact that the event relied heavily on the support of the Government.

The Minister said: “We are registering the word Mashramani, we are going to patent it and anybody who wants to use the word Mashramani would have to get permission to use it.” This means that the word Mashramani would become exclusive property of the Ministry and other entities would have to gain special permission or licence to use it. This licensing will aid the Ministry in obtaining funding. Dr Anthony said that sponsors of the event would have right to use the name Mashramani.

The Minister pointed out that one of the main issues plaguing the event is participants not coming on board early enough. He stressed the need for participants to come on board earlier to ensure that the process of planning is smoother.

The trademark will protect Mashramani against ‘false advertising’ and would force companies to licence the name in order to use it. This plan is expected to increase corporate involvement in the festival. He believes that this mechanism will allow the event to be more self-sustainable in the coming years and hopes that the event will be able to attract more support locally and overseas.

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