Delhi High Court restrains hospitality company from using Tata-owned ‘VIVANTA’ trademark

The Delhi High Court has restrained an entity that went by the name Vivanta Stays from using the trademark “VIVANTA”, holding that the name was deceptively similar to the well-known trademark owned by the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), part of the Tata Group [IHCL Vs Vivanta Stays]..A single-judge Bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed the ex parte ad-interim injunction on October 17, observing that the adoption of the mark by the defendant (Vivanta Stays) was deliberate and mischievous and likely to mislead consumers into believing an association with IHCL’s hospitality business.“The adoption of Plaintiff’s well-known trademark ‘VIVANTA’, which has tremendous goodwill in the hospitality industry for the activities of vacation and villas by Defendant No. 1 appears to be deliberate and mischievous as the consumers may be led to believe that these are services being offered by the Plaintiff,” the Court observed.IHCL told the Court that it was incorporated by the Tata Group in 1902 and is among India’s oldest and largest hospitality companies. The company operates well-known hotel brands such as Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta and Ginger across more than 80 locations worldwide.The VIVANTA brand was coined and adopted by IHCL in 2008 and has since become synonymous with contemporary luxury within the group’s portfolio. In 2022, the Delhi High Court recognised VIVANTA as a well-known trademark in the case of IHCL v. Grand Vivanta Vacations Pvt. Ltd., following which it was added to the official list of well-known marks maintained by the Trade Marks Registry.IHCL stated that it discovered in April 2025 that Vivanta Stays was promoting luxury villa rentals using the Vivanta name through its website (vivantastays.com) and social media handles. Despite receiving a cease-and-desist notice and giving assurances that it would rebrand, Vivanta Stays continued to use the Vivanta name, including under a new domain, vivantastay.in. The defendant also expanded its promotional activities online, IHLC said. .Justice Arora noted that the defendants had acknowledged IHCL’s proprietary rights in the VIVANTA mark but continued to use it for their vacation-rental business. The Court held that such use infringes IHCL's known trademark ‘VIVANTA’.The judge recorded that Vivanta Stays appeared to be a fraudulent entity, with complaints from users alleging deceitful conduct, and said it was necessary to issue a restraining order against the defendants to protect unsuspecting consumers and prevent an erosion of the IHCL's goodwill.The Court concluded that IHCL had established a prima facie case, that the balance of convenience was in their favour and that irreparable harm would be caused if an interim restraining order was not passed to protect IHCL's rights. .The Court directed Vivanta Stays to stop using VIVANTA or any deceptively similar mark online or offline and to remove all references to the mark from its website, social media platforms, and physical materials. The domain vivantastay.in was ordered to be taken down.GoDaddy.com LLC, the domain registrar, was instructed to lock and suspend the domain and share the registrant’s details with IHCL. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and HDFC Bank were directed to provide KYC details linked to the defendants’ phone number and bank account within one week.The Court will hear the matter next on February 26, 2026..IHCL was represented by Advocate Pravin Anand, Dhruv Anand, Udita Patro, Nimrat Singh and Dhananjay Khanna from Anand & Anand.[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.