Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Leela Entertainment From Using 'THE LEELA' Mark

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Leela Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. from using “THE LEELA”, a popular hospitality mark, till the next hearing, holding that it prima facie amounts to infringement of Schloss HMA Pvt. Ltd.'s trademark and passing off of its goodwill.

A bench of Justice Jyoti Singh observed, “Plaintiff has built an immense reputation for itself in the hospitality industry and adoption of identical/deceptively similar marks for identical services by the Defendant is a dishonest adoption and only to misrepresent to the public that its services have a nexus with or are affiliated to the Plaintiff, which is causing irreparable harm and injury to Plaintiff's goodwill and reputation, as brought forth in the plaint."

The court held that the plaintiff had made out a prima facie case for the grant of interim relief, noting that the balance of convenience lay in its favour and that it would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were not granted.

According to it, it is engaged in the business of ultra-luxury hotels and resorts under the flagship trademark “THE LEELA” and its stylized versions, including the 'L' device. It claimed long and continuous use of the mark since 1986, when it was first adopted by Captain C.P. Krishnan Nair and subsequently developed by Leela Group entities.

The brand and associated trademarks were later acquired in 2019 by affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management, pursuant to which the plaintiff became the lawful proprietor through assignment.

The plaintiff said it operates and manages a range of luxury properties across India, including The Leela Palace Bengaluru, The Leela Palace New Delhi, and The Leela Palace Udaipur, and has built significant goodwill and global recognition over decades of continuous use of the brand.

The dispute began when the plaintiff came across a trademark application filed by the defendant in July 2025 for the mark “THE LEELA” on a 'proposed to be used' basis for hospitality services. The mark was later published in the Trade Marks Journal in October 2025, following which the plaintiff opposed the application and sent a cease-and-desist notice in January 2026.

Around the same time, it also emerged that the defendant had already started operating a club in Vagator, Goa, under the name “THE LEELA CLUB”. The venue had hosted its opening event on December 31, 2025, and was being actively promoted through its website, social media handles and online booking platforms.

The plaintiff argued that this was not a coincidence but a deliberate attempt to adopt an identical and deceptively similar mark for the same line of business. According to it, the move was aimed at capitalising on the longstanding goodwill attached to the 'THE LEELA' brand, leading to confusion among consumers, diversion of customers, loss of revenue and dilution of the brand's distinct identity, amounting to infringement as well as passing off.

Accepting the contention, the Court noted that the plaintiff is the registered proprietor of the “THE LEELA” mark and its formative variants and enjoys statutory rights under Section 28 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

“Defendant is using deceptively similar/identical marks for rendering identical services and consumer base being common, there is likelihood of confusion and in fact, Plaintiff has pointed out instances of actual confusion. Defendant is prima facie infringing Plaintiff's registered trademarks,” the Court observed.

Accordingly, the court restrained the defendant, its affiliates, and all persons acting on its behalf from using the marks 'THE LEELA', 'THE LEELA CLUB GOA', and 'LEELA ENTERTAINMENT PVT. LTD.' or any other deceptively similar mark, including as part of its corporate name, domain name, social media handle, or promotional material, until the next date of hearing.

For Plaintiff: Advocates Pravin Anand and Ashutosh Upadhyaya