In Brief
Renaissance Hotel Holdings Inc., a Delaware corporation owning the registered trademark "RENAISSANCE" for hotel and hospitality services, sued to prevent B. Vijaya Sai and others from using "SAI RENAISSANCE" for their hotels. The trial court granted a partial injunction, finding infringement. The High Court reversed, reasoning that the parties served different customer classes and there was no likelihood of confusion. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that when a registered trademark is identical with the defendant's mark and used for identical or similar goods/services, infringement is presumed under Section 29(2)(c) read with Section 29(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1999, requiring no proof of consumer confusion. The Court further held the use violated Section 29(5) (using the trademark in the business name) and that the High Court wrongly applied Section 29(4) in isolation.
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