Delhi High Court restrains Goa hotel from using Holiday Inn trademark

The Delhi High Court has passed an ex-parte interim order in favour of Holiday Inn in a trademark infringement suit filed by it against one Jerome Fernandes and his hotel in Goa [Six Continents Hotels, Inc Vs Mr Jerome Fernandes].

By way of an order passed on August 17, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani restrained Fernandes from using the marks ‘Hotel Jerome's Holiday Inn’ and ‘Holiday Inn’.

The Court also directed Fernandes to take down the advertisements and listings of his hotel located in Goa from travel websites such as Goibibo, MakeMyTrip, TripAdvisor and Trivago.

The order was passed on a suit filed by Six Continents Hotels which owns Holiday Inn chain of hotels in India.

Six Continents is the subsidiary of the American hospitality conglomerate InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

Six Continents Hotels submitted that it had registered the mark ‘Holiday Inn’ in 1964 and the same has been designated as a well-known trademark in India.

It was claimed that Fernandes subsumed the complete mark in its name ‘Hotel Jerome’s Holiday Inn’.

The Court observed that a prima facie case has been made out warranting an interim injunction against the Goan hotel.

“Based on a preliminary appreciation of the matter, this court is of the view that the plaintiff has succeeded in making-out a prima-facie case in its favour; that the balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendant; and it would appear that irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the plaintiff if the interim injunction as prayed-for is not granted,” the Court observed.

Advocates Nancy Roy and Prakriti Varshney appeared for Six Continents Hotels.

[Read order]