Delhi High Court Grants Relief to Anantara Hotel Chain, Bars 'Club Anantara' From Using Its Mark

The Delhi High Court has recently restrained Club Anantara Suites and Retreat from using the marks “Anantara”, “Club Anantara” and related domain names after finding them deceptively similar to the trademarks of the luxury ANANTARA hotel chain. The ad-interim injunction, granted in favour of MHG IP Holding Singapore Pte Ltd., the entity that owns and manages intellectual property for the global ANANTARA hotels and resorts portfolio, will remain in force until March 16, 2026. A single bench of Justice Tejas Karia passed the order on November 14, 2025, holding that MHG IP had established a prima facie case for interim relief based on the visual and structural similarities between the competing marks and the likelihood of confusion.MHG IP informed the court that it adopted the ANANTARA mark in 2000 for its international chain of luxury hotels, resorts and spas, and has since expanded globally, including plans to launch a property in Jaipur. The company holds registrations for the ANANTARA mark across multiple classes and jurisdictions and claims longstanding reputation in India through its websites and extensive online presence.The dispute arose when MHG IP discovered that Club Anantara Suites and Retreat was operating websites under domain names such as clubanantara.com and clubanantarasuitesandretreat.com, promoting hospitality services identical to those offered under the ANANTARA brand. MHG IP alleged that these marks and domain names were “visually and structurally similar” and intended to create an association with its well-known hospitality brand.The company also informed the Court that it had previously succeeded in two WIPO complaints, resulting in the transfer of the domain names in December 2024 and August 2025. Despite this, Club Anantara allegedly continued to use similar domain names incorporating ANANTARA, prompting additional cease-and-desist notices. The court was also shown consumer complaints mistakenly directed to ANANTARA hotels regarding services provided by Club Anantara. After reviewing the material, the court held that MHG IP was the prior adopter and continuous user of the ANANTARA mark since 2000 and had established goodwill and reputation in India. It found visual and structural similarity between the competing marks and noted that Club Anantara's continued use of disputed domain names even after adverse WIPO findings indicated prima facie bad faith. Repeated consumer complaints further demonstrated a likelihood of confusion. “The Defendants' adoption of the Infringing Marks for identical services, coupled with the use of confusingly similar domain names incorporating the Subject Marks despite adverse WIPO findings, reflects a mala fide attempt to ride upon and misappropriate the Plaintiffs' goodwill and reputation.”, It said. Finding that the balance of convenience favoured MHG IP and that irreparable harm would be caused without protection, the Court restrained Club Anantara and its associated entities from operating or promoting the disputed domain names and from using “Anantara”, “Club Anantara” or “Club Anantara Suites and Retreat” or any mark deceptively similar to ANANTARA, until the next hearing. Case Title: MHG IP Holding Singapore Pte Ltd & Ors. v. Club Anantara Suites and Retreat & Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1568 Case Number: CS(COMM) 1229/2025 For Plaintiff: Senior Advocate CM Lall with Advocates Annanya,Parul Panthi, Sahil Arora and Amit Panigrahi.Click Here To Read/Download The Order

Delhi High Court Grants Relief to Anantara Hotel Chain, Bars 'Club Anantara' From Using Its Mark

Ayushi Shukla

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