The light and spirit of   Blessed Saint Mother Teresa are  still burning  brightly. On September 4th 2016, she was canonized and this also coincided with the recognition of the Blue border sari, the apparel worn by the nuns of Missionaries of Charities, as Intellectual Property. Endorsing her spiritual powers is the   due recognition given by the Vatican and now her sari which was initially blessed by Father Van Exem at the Sacristy of the Convent Chapel .The distinct blue border sari cannot now be infringed by anyone else. She wore the same designed saree ever after as she went out to serve the poor and the destitute on the streets of Kolkata. The border of the sari had two small blue stripes followed by a wider stripe. Blue border pattern is a distinctive symbolic identity of Missionaries of Charity.

Mother Teresa was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor.  She is considered one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century. Born in 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, Mother Teresa taught in India for 17 years before in 1946 she experienced her “call within a call” to devote herself to caring for the sick and poor. Her order established a hospice; centers for the blind, aged, and disabled; and a leper colony. In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work. She died in September 1997 and was beatified in October 2003. In December 2015, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, clearing the way for her to be canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta on September 4, 201

Applications were filed before the Trade Marks Registry on December 12, 2013 and after necessary due diligence and necessary procedures being followed, the registrations were granted after nearly three years. In order to commemorate the sainthood of Mother Teresa, the Government of India symbolically granted the trade mark registration on September 4, 2016, despite it being a Sunday.

Biswajit Sarkar

The  Trade Marks Registry, Government of India, has granted the registration of the trade mark for that pattern of blue border of sari,” Leading  Intellectual Property attorney  of India Biswajit Sarkar said. The law firm involved in  obtaining the trademark for  blue border sari of Mother Teresa is  Biswajit Sarkar , Advocates – IP Attorneys , India based IP Law firm.

This IP Law firm is very well reputed in India and is led by IP Attorney Biswajit Sarkar who serves for The Missionaries of Charity voluntary service. The Missionaries of Charity does not believe in publicity and as such it was not publicized, but since we are witnessing unscrupulous and unfair usage of the design across the globe, we are now trying to spread awareness among people about the trademark,” Sarkar said.

Missionaries of Charities worldwide and Biswajit Sakar, Law firm, with an international presence based in  Kolkata, have both made great inroads with the recognition of blue border Mother Teresa sari as intellectual property. Missionaries of Charities have a brand and style of their own which is now protected.

May the Saint and her Stripes always be protected and blessed. And, may Biswajit Sarkar be blessed and always protect the   Intellectual rights of Missionaries of Charities.

Biswajit Sarkar is elated that they could make a modest and  humble contribution to protect the interest of Missionaries of Charities.If readers are interested in widening their horizon of knowledge on IP law please check the website of Biswajit Sarkar and they will be happy to answer any your queries if you need to know more in this phenomenal growing field.

http://www.biswajitsarkar.com/ | [email protected]