Try to amicably resolve dispute over ‘Lodha’ trademark: HC to brothers
The suit sought Rs5,000 crore as damages from Abhinandan Lodha’s company
Macrotech Developers, Abhinandan Lodha and Abhishek Lodha
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday suggested Abhishek Lodha and his brother Abhinandan Lodha to try and amicably resolve the issue over the use of ‘Lodha’ trademark.
The Abhishek Lodha-promoted Macrotech Developers Ltd earlier this month filed a suit in the HC against Abhinandan Lodha’s real estate firm, House of Abhinandan Lodha, claiming the name ‘Lodha’ was their trademark and no one else could use it.
The suit sought Rs5,000 crore as damages from Abhinandan Lodha’s company.
In an interim application, Macrotech Developers sought a perpetual injunction against the defendants from infringing their trademark ‘Lodha’.
On Monday, a single bench of Justice Arif Doctor while hearing the application said since the dispute was primarily between two brothers, the possibility of an amicable resolution should be attempted.
“Ultimately it appears to be a dispute between two brothers. The genesis appears to be between the two brothers. Has some effort been made to sit down and resolve it?” Justice Doctor said.
The court asked the parties concerned (Macrotech Developers, Abhinandan Lodha and Abhishek Lodha) to inform it on Tuesday if they were willing to resolve the matter by way of mediation.
The HC said if the parties were agreeable, then it would appoint a former chief justice or a retired Supreme Court judge as the mediator and an endeavour shall be made to complete the proceedings as expeditiously as possible. Senior counsel Darius Khambata, appearing for Macrotech Developers, told the court that the plaintiff company was the registered proprietor of the trademark ‘Lodha’, and hence it was the aggrieved party.
The high court, however, noted that the genesis appears to be from a dispute between the brothers.
“If the dispute between the brothers is resolved, then would it not put to rest everything else? There has to be some effort made for a resolution,” the HC said.
The Lodha brothers, sons of BJP leader and Maharashtra cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, had reached a settlement in 2015.
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.
