Bombay High Court has permitted Bangalore-based Royal Orchid Hotels to open another hotel under the mark “Royal Orchid”. On 6 May, the court granted the company a limited stay after it appealed against a limited injunction order from Justice DY Chandrachud, which stated that the use of the mark by Royal Orchid Hotels, coupled with the use of a flower device, was an infringement of a trademark held by Kamat Hotels. The interim order stated that Royal Orchid Hotels could continue to use the Royal Orchid mark on its existing properties, but could not use it on any new hotel ventures and properties.
The dispute came after a suit was filed by Mumbai-based Kamat Hotels against Royal Orchid, accusing it of passing off its trademark – “The Orchid” – as its own. Kamat Hotels operates one hotel in Mumbai under the name The Orchid. Royal Orchid has 17 hotels across India.
Kamat Hotels maintained that it had used The Orchid mark continuously since January 1997. It also argued that the mark had acquired goodwill and reputation in Mumbai and elsewhere in India.
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Kamat also told the court it had registered its mark in several classes including classes 16 (paper and stationary), 29 (food items), 30 (coffee, tea and sugar), 31 (agricultural, horticultural and forestry products), 32 (beer, mineral and aerated water), and 33 (wines and spirits).
Royal Orchid argued that it had adopted and used The Orchid brand since 1990, and later in 1996-1997, the mark Royal Orchid, in relation to its hotel and catering business. It further said that Kamat filed the suit in 2008 – four years after it claimed to find out about Royal Orchid’s business.
Royal Orchid Hotels was represented by counsel Venkatesh Dhond; Nikhil Krishnamurthy, a senior partner at Krishnamurthy & Co; counsel Rashmin Khandekar; and solicitor Sunil Patel.
Senior advocates Virendra Tulzapurkar, Virag Tulzapurkar and Vinod Bhagat and lawyers Punit Jani, Dhiren Karania, Suryank Rao, GS Hegde and VS Bhagat acted for the Kamat Hotels.
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