Rajasthan High Court on 29th July 2010 passed an order in the case of Hilltone v. Hilton refusing to stay the order passed by the Additional District Judge restraining Hilton from using its name with regard to the hospitality sector. In the instant case, the plaintiff Hilltone Hotel located in Mount Abu had filed a suit against the defendant Hilton International Corporation alleging ‘deceptive similarity’ to its own name. They also pleaded for Hilton International to be restrained from using the name ‘Hilton’. Hilltone Hotel had also registered their trademark before Hilton registered their trademark.

The District Court passed an order and noted that the defendant may not use in any part of India, the registered trademark Hotel Hilltone of the plaintiff or any type of sabotage in it by using any sort of misleading logo and mark. The District Court further noted that the defendants may not use and enjoy thereby causing confusion of being plaintiff’s hotel and may not carry on business of hotels and food items in alliance with any other Indian business under such duplicate trade mark. It restrained the defendants Hilton International Corporation and Hilton International through permanent injunction that they not give the threat to the plaintiff to use the name of Hotel Hilltone and may not create any impediment of any kind on the manufacturing and sale of the food items to be manufactured by the plaintiff under the registered trademark.

However, the Rajasthan High Court refused to stay the order passed by the District Judge. Instead, it stated that when registration of the Hilton Hotel has not been quashed and is still in existence in their name and they are running their business in the said registered name, as such their apprehension is totally groundless that due to judgments impugned they will go through irreparable loss.

Based on the reports through media that Hilton has only been denied a stay on the order of the District Court, there is a possibility that the Rajasthan High Court is yet to hear the whole appeal and settle the matter on merits. Since Hilton is a brand name known worldwide having an international reputation, it can be expected that the High Court would stay the operation of the district court’s permanent injunction order, pending the result of the appeal.