To
Mouthshut.com Administration
Sir (or Madam?)
I have been a registered member of Mouthshut.com for more than two years now. What began as a thrilling and tempestuous relationship has, with time, petered out into a more sedate association, tempered by a cluster of factors beyond my, or rather anybody’s, control. It was with a feeling of absolute consternation, almost bordering on alarm, that I silently watched the halting attempts of your team to sneak its way into the messy realms of social networking. The elevated platform of consumer opinion was conveniently dismantled, albeit under the ruse of evolution. To promote networking, you needed incentives, and then someone amongst you hit upon this brilliant idea to introduce virtual gifts which could be traded for points earned by a variety of obtuse methods. The initial success was overwhelming. But then, amongst all this backslapping and reverie, the cavalier attitude of your team has allowed things to go a bit too far. I will explain how.
"The Indian National Flag represents the hopes and aspirations of the people of India. It is the symbol of our national pride.”
(https://india.gov.in/outerwin.htm?id=https://mha.gov.in/pdfs/flagcodeofindia.pdf)
Not very long ago, your team chose to expand the virtual gifts list, including among other things, a motif of The Indian National Flag. Your team arbitrarily fixed the ‘value’ of the ‘Indian Flag’ at 100 points, meaning thereby, a member could acquire or gift the ‘Indian Flag’ in exchange for 100 points which would be deducted from his or her accumulated points. This can be interpreted as a ‘trade’ wherein Mouthshut.com may be seen as ‘using’ the ‘Indian Flag’ to modify member response(s) in a way that eventually serves to augment profits for the website. Legal experts may offer a better and a more incisive interpretation of whether your team has exploited the ‘Indian Flag’ for commercial gains, and whether you have violated any law in doing so. I, however, can only state that it is unlawful to use The Indian Flag for commercial purposes in violation of the Emblem and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
“The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
Section 3: No person shalluse, or continue to use, for the purpose of any trade, business, calling or profession, or in the title of any patent, or in any trade mark of design, any name or emblem specified in the Schedule or any colourable imitation thereof without the previous permission of the Central Government or of such officer of Government as may be authorised in this behalf by the Central Government.NOTE: The Indian National Flag has been specified as an emblem in the Schedule to the Act.”
(https://india.gov.in/outerwin.htm?id=https://mha.gov.in/pdfs/flagcodeofindia.pdf)
Contd. in Part II
