A trading lobby in India has come down hard on Bollywood actor Salman Khan to change the name of his newly launched online shopping portal -khanmarketonline.com. The domain name traders claim will cause confusion among consumers to imply that goods being sold online are from Delhi's popular up-market location, Khan Market.
An umbrella body representing traders in Delhi, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in a statement obtained by the Hindustan Times said an appeal to withdraw the name "Khan Market" was made to protect the brand of Delhi's upscale trading location.
Established in 1951, the posh market is located in the heart of the national capital and is considered the most pricey retail location in India with shop space rentals averaging as high as $235 per square foot.
Traders told the publication that items sold on "khanmarketonline"would be misleading and construed by consumers as products sold by traders at the physical Khan Market.
The "Kick" actor launched the portal in lieu of his 50th birthday which fell on Dec. 27, 2014 and tweeted the news to fans on his official Twitter account.
Meanwhile, the President of the Khan Market Traders' Association, Sanjiv Mehra told the Hindu publication that traders were objecting to the Bollywood actors shopping portal, as the physical Khan Market is renowned retail location across the world.
"This portal is misusing our market's name and hence amounts to trademark infringement," Mehra said.
While the portal is currently not open for business, and is only taking registrations. Legal experts claim as there is no infringement of copyright on the name, the case may not be legally binding. However, if the Bollywood star does not heed the appeal , traders claim they are gearing to take the matter to courts with legal advice being sort on the issue.
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