THE RITZ HOTEL LIMITED & ORS. vs M S HOTEL RITZ & ORS.

Judgment text excerpt

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of decision: 29th May, 2025 + CS(COMM) 8/2025, I.A. 255/2025 & I.A. 256/2025 THE RITZ HOTEL LIMITED & ORS. .....Plaintiffs Through: Mr. Pravin Anand, Ms. Vaishali R. Mittal and Ms. Gitanjali Sharma, Advocates versus M S HOTEL RITZ & ORS. .....Defendants Through: Mr. Rishub Kapoor, Advocate CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL AMIT BANSAL, J. (Oral) 1. The present suit has been filed seeking relief of permanent injunction restraining the defendants from infringement of trademarks and passing off of their services as those of the plaintiffs along with other ancillary reliefs. PLEADINGS IN THE PLAINT 2. The plaintiff no. 1, The Ritz Hotel Limited, owns the famous ‘The Ritz Paris’ hotel, which was established in Paris in the year 1898 and is now ranked amongst the most luxurious hotels in the world. The plaintiff no. 3 is the current owner globally of a family of the Ritz marks and ‘RITZ’ formative trademarks such as ‘THE RITZ HOTEL’, ‘RITZ PARIS’, ‘HOTEL RITZ’, ‘RITZ ESCOFFIER’ etc. (hereinafter referred to as “RITZ marks”). The plaintiff no. 1 assigned the RITZ marks to the plaintiff no. 3 in 2021, while the plaintiff no. 1 retained a license to use the RITZ marks. Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed CS(COMM) 8/2025 Page 1 of 12 By:DHARMENDER SINGH Signing Date:30.05.2025 17:05:23 3. The plaintiff no. 2, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., owns the world-famous trademarks ‘RITZ-CARLTON’, ‘THE RITZ- CARLTON’, , and variations thereof (individually and collectively referred to as the “RITZ-CARLTON marks”). 4. The plaintiff no. 2 has registered the RITZ-CARLTON marks in India, where they are used in connection with 5-star luxury hotels operating in Bengaluru and in Pune. The plaintiff no. l’s earliest registration fo