Delhi High Court Issues Permanent Injunction Against Trademark Infringement Of Ramada International, Awards ₹10 Lakh Damages

Ramada International (plaintiff) submitted that it adopted the trademark RAMADA in 1954 for its hotel in Arizona, USA. It stated that it franchises and manages over 900 hotels across more than 60 countries including India.

It submitted that the defendant no. 1/Clubramada Hotels And Resorts Private Limited unlawfully adopted the Ramada mark as a part of its corporate name. It stated that the defendant also registered domain names using the infringing marks.

Ramada International sent a legal notice to the defendant. In its reply the defendant admitted to using the trademark, but refused to transfer the rights of domain name to Ramada.

Justice Mini Pushkarna noted that on 14 December 2021, the Court had passed an ex parte ad interim injunction, restraining the defendant from using the RAMADA marks.

The Court noted that Ramada International filed two Interim applications since the defendant did not follow the Court's injunction order. The Court had reiterated the injunction order passed against the defendant and had directed the Managing Director of defendant no.1 to appear in person to explain the said infringing actions.

On 17 August 2023, the Court was not satisfied with the explanation given by the MD and had recorded that prima facie the defendant had no regard for the Court's order. The Court had directed the defendant to pay Rs. 5 lakh as pro tem deposit.

The Court noted that despite its order, defendant no. 1 failed to deposit the amount. On defendant's conduct, it remarked “Further, the defendants‟ conduct in the present matter has been contumacious since the inception of the suit, as they have willfully persisted in their infringing activities, despite ex-pare interim injunction passed against the defendants restraining them from using the infringing marks. Their failure to provide any cogent justification for the adoption of the impugned mark, coupled with their deliberate misrepresentation and bad faith use, demonstrates a blatant disregard towards the plaintiff's statutory and proprietary rights.”

The Court observed that the RAMADA mark has been used extensively and continuously by the plaintiff/Ramada International for a long time in various countries across the world including India. It noted that the plaintiff owns at least 8 trademark registrations for Ramada and its formative marks in India. It noted that the there are 39 hotels with the Ramada mark operating in 30 cities in India.

It referred to a decision by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Ramada International, Inc. v. Degui Wang, where Ramada International's right over the Ramada mark was recognized and the domain name containing the impugned mark was directed to be transferred in favour of Ramada International.

The Court further observed that the defendant had knowledge of the Ramada brand and adopted the impugned mark with a mala fide intent. It stated “With respect to costs and damages, this Court observes that the defendant's adoption of the infringing marks cannot be deemed bona fide or honest. The defendant was fully aware of the plaintiff's registered trademarks and their established reputation, making any plea of ignorance untenable. Further, the defendant has failed to provide any credible justification for adopting the plaintiff's trademark, clearly intending to exploit the plaintiff's goodwill and reputation for its own benefit.”

In view of the above, the Court issued a permanent injunction in favour Ramada International, restraining the defendant from infringing its trademarks. The Court further awarded Rs. 10 lakh in damages to Ramada International.

The Court also noted that Ramada was entitled to the actual costs of the suit and thus asked it to file its bill of costs within three months.

Case title: Ramada International, Inc. vs. Clubramada Hotels And Resorts Private Limited & Anr. 

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 303