In this blogpost, Amala Halder, Student,  Department of Law, University of Calcutta,Hazra, writes about the legal requirements to start a theme park.

What is a theme park?

According to thefreedictionary.com-

A Theme Park is “An amusement Park designed around a central Theme, such as the world of future or divided into areas with different themes.”

Now that I knew what a theme park is, I started thinking of a “Central Theme” on which my theme park would be designed. Now I knew all I wanted is my theme park to offer something new to the City, something that the city wants but has never had.

As a bong I knew the single most important thing needed for survival and that was “Good Food.” I am a foodie myself, and I realized what really lacks in a city is our ability to link food with its heritage . So I came up with the concept of “WORLD FOOD PARK” where the central theme would be food but, it would have different zones allocated to different regions and their authentic cuisines. People would not only explore the food but also imbibe the culture of the concerned country. Sounds exciting? But before you start heading for your Sunday lunch, let me tell you I am still a long way to go.

Firstly, there has to be an incorporated body under which the amusement park can operate. I knew I needed to form a company first, and I opted for a Private Limited company. The name that we came up with was Themeit Private Limited (which was still subject to approval).

The structuring of a Private Limited Company

As per Section 2(68) of the Companies Act 2013, a private company means a company having a minimum paid up share capital of one lakh rupees or such higher paid-up share capitals as may be prescribed. Section 149(1) states of the said act that a private company shall have a minimum of two members . Keeping that in mind I proceeded for incorporating the company following the steps-

1. Apply for Digital Signature Certificate of the proposed Directors.
2. Obtain Director Identification Number for each Director. It is to be obtained by filling Form DIR
3. Apply for a Name by submitting Form INC-1. The approval of the name has to be obtained from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
4. Draft the Memorandum of Association and Article of Association.
5. File Form INC-7 for registration of the Company.
6. File form DIR-8 mentioning the particulars of the directors, secretary, managers, etc
7. File form INC-22 containing the situation of the registered office.
8. Obtain a Certificate of Incorporation and Corporate Identification Number from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

There are a few documents that are needed while filling up the forms. They are listed below.

The documents needed for incorporation

1. For obtaining the Director Identification Number- proof of identity and proof of residence (PAN card, Voter ID Card)
2. For filling up form INC-7- Stamped and signed copy of Memorandum and Article of Association.
3. For filling of Form INC-22- Proof of registered office address, proof that the company is permitted to use the address as the registered Copies of utility bills.

After the formation of the Company I had to look for a place where the Theme Park could be built. I was lucky enough to find a decent 70 acres of sprawling landscape and water. Now that I had the land I needed to follow certain compliances in order to start the work on building the Theme park.

Compliances needed

1. Clearance under Town and Country Planning Act issued by the Area Development Authority.
2. Urban Land Ceiling Clearance issued by the Sub-divisional officer and District Land and Land Reforms Officer (DLLRO).
3. Conversion of land (Clearance) & Mutation issued by Block Land and Land Reforms Officer of the Block and DLLRO of the District.

Having the right of erection on the plot our company having the deed of conveyance and mutation certificate may apply for a building sanction plan with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation along with the Building Plan Proposal Application Fees.

Licenses

Theme parks need licenses when it comes to starting of operations. As the main focus of my park was on food, the following licenses were a must-

1. Health license and Food license from Kolkata Municipality.
2. For pollution control, it is essential to obtain a No objection Certificate from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. Consent of the DIC of some specified category.
3. Amusement License from Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Bank Account

Opening a bank account for a Private Limited Company was luckily pretty simple. The documents needed were-

1. Certificate of incorporation.
2. Memorandum and Articles of association.
3. A copy of PAN allotment letter.
4. A copy of telephone bill.
5. Board resolution for opening current account,
6. The latest list of Directors as per Bank’s format.
7. Identity proof of all Directors and Authorized Signatories.

With this we soon had an account in the name of World Food Park fully functional.

Branding

Branding is extremely important when it comes to Theme Parks as it is meant for the masses. To create a brand means to give an identity to the thing that is created. The name I thought of –“World food Park” was a part of branding. The tagline I thought of was “Place where cuisine meets culture.”  The creation of a tagline to acts as a catch for the people, but it has to be relevant enough to the content and image of the park.

It is one of the most important steps for a Theme Park. Branding includes many steps-

1. Decide on a brand name-

Deciding on a brand name for the Park is equally important as searching for a name for the Company. As it is the identity of the Park. The name “World Food Park” was but obvious as I wanted people to know what the park is all about the moment they heard the name.

2. Make trademark application-

After selection of the Name a trademark application form TM-1 has to be filled and submitted. The estimated cost of the form is INR 3500. The form can be filled both online and offline. The e-filling is the easiest option.

3. Checking of brand name-

On receiving the brand name, the Registrar would check whether some other brand with the same name exists.

4. Publication in Indian Trade Mark Journals-

After checking, the brand name is published in the Indian Trade Mark Journals, and if no one raises opposition within 3 months, from the date of publication, the brand name proceeds for acceptance.

5. Trademark registration Certificate-

If no opposition is raised in the aforesaid period, then the Registrar accepts the trademark application, and the Certificate of Registration is given under the seal of Trademark Registry.

The documents needed for branding

1. A business registration concern.
2. Identity proof of Directors of the company and address proof.
3. An image of the brand logo in a standard size.

Even after all these technicalities the creation of a brand involves a lot of advertising. Though there are no specific legislations relating to advertising in the Country, the following laws are often referred to during brand promotions through advertising-

1. Copyright Act 1957
2. Cable Television Network Act.
3. Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986.

Apart from these, organizing competitions of food photography, blogging, and cooking and giving the winner one whole day free at the theme park can help in creating a buzz.Inviting celebrity chefs to spend a whole day at the park would really add zeal to the Park.

 References

In the completion of the assignment I have referred to-

• The modules supplied
• zepo.in
• indiankanon.org