The Bombay High Court has accepted the plea by Macrotech Developers against the House of Abhinandan Lodha over alleged trademark infringement. The case was filed by Macrotech's promoter, Abhishek Lodha, against his younger brother, Abhinandan Lodha, over the use of the name 'Lodha'. The duo are sons of BJP leader and Maharashtra cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha.
In his petition, Abhishek Lodha claimed that 'Lodha' and 'Lodha Group' were trademarks owned by Macrotech, and the House of Abhinandan Lodha was using the name illegally.
Abhishek has sought ?5,000 crore in damages from his younger brother for infringing upon his intellectual property.
According to Macrotech Developers, the Lodha Group was founded in the early 1980s, and the complainant owned the trademark 'Lodha' and various other registered trademarks with the same name.
As per the complaint, until 2015, there was an internal agreement that all companies in the Lodha Group could use the trademark, but after it was decided that Abhinandan Lodha would separate from the Lodha Group and start his own business, this was changed.
As part of the separation deal in March 2017, Abhinandan Lodha agreed to name his venture 'The House of Abhinandan Lodha', while Macrotech retained the intellectual properties.
As part of the deal, Abhinandan had also agreed not to venture into real estate activities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Area for five years and in Greater London for specified periods.
However, due to non-compliance by Abhinandan, another arrangement was entered into in December 2023, reaffirming restrictions on using names similar to or leading with 'Lodha,' including 'Lodha Ventures.'
In an interim application, the company sought a perpetual injunction against the defendants from infringing its trademark "Lodha."
The Bombay High Court said it would hear the application seeking interim relief on January 27.
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