The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Royal Orchid Hotels Limited (“ROHL”) and upheld the February 11, 2015 order of the Madras High Court restraining ROHL from using the word ‘Orchid’ or mark or logo that amounts to infringement on the trademark of ‘The Orchid’ belonging to Kamat Hotels (India) (“KHIL”). KHIL is the owner and registered proprietor of the trademark/ logo ‘The Orchid’ and promotes two five star ecotel hotels under the brand ‘The Orchid’ in Mumbai and Pune.
The SC bench chaired by Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R. Banumathi decided to dismiss the petition of ROHL. Disposing of the case the SC said in its order “Having considered the matter we are of the view that the conclusions reached by the Madras High Court cannot be said to be, in anyway, unreasonable and/or unacceptable. Rather, we are inclined to hold that the view recorded by the Madras High Court is a perfectly possible and justified view of the matter and the conclusion(s) reached can reasonably flow from a balanced consideration of the evidence and materials on record. We will, therefore, not consider the present to be a fit case for interference with the order of the Madras High Court. Accordingly, we dismiss the Special Leave Petition and refuse leave to appeal”
The SC recognised the fact that KHIL is prior user and also that the mark used by ROHL was similar and passing off as the original. It also held true that consumers could get confused and did not agree with ROHL submission that the marks are different in colour and design.
Kamat Hotels welcomed the decision as justice being done to the efforts of Dr Vithal Kamat who started Asia’s First 5 Star Ecotel – The Orchid way back in 1997 in Mumbai and is recognised as a pioneer in the industry.
A release from Royal Orchid, “It may be noted that the said order pertains to the registration of the mark Royal Orchid under the Trade Marks Act and does not concern the continued use of the mark which is the subject matter of a separate pending suit between the parties before the Bombay High Court. As a matter of fact, the Supreme Court order also recognises that Royal Orchid was successful in an earlier matter before the Supreme Court between the same parties where an earlier trade mark registration of the brand Royal Orchid has attained finality. Royal Orchid Hotels is confident about the merits of its case and will continue to contest the matter before the Bombay High Court. We would like state that the Supreme Court order does not have any business impact on our current hotel operations.”
The release further said that since 2011, Royal Orchid Hotels has also started operating hotels and resorts under the brand ‘Re:gen:ta Hotels’. It is an upscale arm of the Royal Orchid Hotels group and is categorised into Re:gen:ta, Re:gen:ta Central, Re:gen:ta Resorts and Re:gen:ta Inn. Currently Royal Orchid Hotels is operating 30 hotels under the Re:gen:ta brand comprising of 1,825 keys. ‘Re:gen:ta Hotels’ is a well established brand with its presence across major cities in India. Today the number of properties operated under Re:gen:ta is 30, while 16 hotels continue to be operated under the Royal Orchid brand. There is also a well planned strategy for brand expansion under the Re:gen:ta brand. In the last six years, the Re:gen:ta brand has created considerable brand equity amongst its customers and channel partners.
