Mumbai: Trademark row between Lodha brothers heads to court

Bombay HC to hear Abhishek Lodha-promoted Macrotech Developers’ plea on January 27

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it would hear on January 27 the application filed by Abhishek Lodha-promoted Macrotech Developers Ltd seeking an injunction against his younger brother from using the trademark ‘Lodha’. Last week, the company filed a suit against Abhinandan Lodha’s real estate firm, House of Abhinandan Lodha, claiming that the name ‘Lodha’ was their trademark and no one else could use it. In an interim application, the company sought a perpetual injunction against the defendants from infringing its trademark “Lodha”.

The application came up for hearing on Tuesday morning before a single bench of Justice Manish Pitale. The court, however, noted that it could not hear the plea, as the suit had sought damages of Rs 5000 crore. As per court assignment, any suit that sought damages of more than R100 crore would have to be heard by the single bench of Justice Arif Doctor.

Macrotech Developers, in its application, claimed it was the flagship company of the Lodha Group, a leading real estate developer founded in the early 1980s, offering residential and commercial properties under the brand name Lodha. It further claimed that the plaintiff company was the proprietor of the trademark ‘Lodha’ and various other registered trademarks containing the name as the leading, essential and prominent feature. As per the application, until 2015, there was an internal agreement that all companies in the Lodha Group could use the trademark.

However, in 2015, it was decided that Abhinandan Lodha would separate from the Lodha Group and start his own business. The terms of separation were also recorded by way of a Family Settlement Agreement in March 2017 and another agreement in 2023, wherein it was decided that the defendant’s venture would be called The House of Abhinandan Lodha. The company claimed it was not part of the 2023 agreement and was not bound by the terms.

“The plaintiff company, who is the registered proprietors of the ‘Lodha’ trademarks, has neither in the past nor till date hereof granted any no-objection/permission to the defendants for the use of ‘House of Abhinandan Lodha’,” the application said. Abhishek, who helms the flagship company of the Group, Macrotech Developers, in the suit, claimed the “Lodha” brand name was built over the last four decades, and his firm had spent R1700 crore in brand building in a decade alone. The suit said the Lodha name commands a lot of goodwill, and Macrotech’s domestic property sales alone stand at R91,000 crore over the last decade.

“The Lodha Group has spent considerable time, effort and money building its brand through advertisements and endorsements and is renowned across India and abroad,” it added.   The Lodha brothers, sons of BJP leader and Maharashtra cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, had reached a settlement in 2015. House of Abhinandan Lodha is part of Lodha Ventures, established by Abhinandan after he quit Macrotech Developers (erstwhile Lodha Developers).

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