Whose Monopoly is it?

Designer duo Monapali accuses Abhishek Dutta of not just stealing their brand name but also the idea behind doing the interiors of his store!
Shakespeare might have famously asked what’s in a name, but names do matter. At least, so it seems if one were to refer to the recent name-game being played by city designers Monapali and Abhishek Dutta. Abhishek’s recently-opened store is called Monopoly.And that is where the discontent lies - it apparently sounds very similar to Monapali’s brand name!
On Saturday morning, Abhishek says he received a call from the designer duo, accusing him of stealing their brand name.
Talking about this issue, Mona Lamba says, “Since 1987, we are registered as Monapali. The theme of our store is an ode to Kolkata. That’s why we have wrought iron furniture, broken tiles, and an old hand-held fan. All of these help in recreating the old-world charm of this city. I’m told Abhishek has done similar interiors for his store.
What is most irritating is that we’ve been flooded with calls from clients and prospective buyers who want to know if we’ve opened a new store. We wish Abhishek all the best in his career. He is a good designer and doesn’t need to cash in on our brand name. He
surely could have sensibly thought of a different name.”
Abhishek, on his part, says, “The theme might be similar. Since I wanted to capture the old-world charm of Kolkata, I thought of this name. The erstwhile East India Company had a monopoly over spice and tea. I got the name ‘Monopoly’ for my store in that context. Since mine is a multi-designer store, I checked out names of such stores registered all over India. However, the similarity with Monapali never struck me. I had no intentions of hurting the sentiments of such senior designers.”
Adds Abhishek, “I have high regards for Mona and Pali since they were part of the jury, at my designing college, where I won the ‘Most Creative Designer’ award. In future, I hope to establish good relations with them. I need their blessings and have no intentions of hurting them.”
What’s in a name, do we say again?
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