Avani Group of Hotels gets interim injunction against use of ‘Arvani’

The Commercial High Court of Colombo recently granted an Interim Injunction restraining and preventing the use of the name ‘Arvani’ in terms of an application made by Avani Hotels and Resorts to safeguard their registered trademarks.

The owners of the Avani Group of Hotels, Minor International Public Company Ltd., and MHG IP Holdings (Singapore) Ltd. instituted this action by Plaint dated 28 February 2020 against two individuals who owned and operated two hotels by the name ‘Arvani Villa’. 

The Plaintiffs by its Plaint stated that Avani is a world-renowned brand and trademark with immense goodwill amassed over the years through their vast network of hotels and resorts around the world.

The Plaintiffs further through their Plaint took up the position that the Plaintiffs’ are the registered owners of multiple ‘Avani’ Trademarks in Sri Lanka and that the Defendants have strategically named their hotels ‘Arvani’, which are also in the same area of the country as the Plaintiffs’ Hotels in an attempt to ‘piggy-back’ on the goodwill of the Plaintiffs’ ‘Avani’ brand/trademark.

The Defendants through their Objections took up the positions that the name ‘Arvani’ was composed by joining the two names of their children, and that the scale in which the Defendants’ hotels operate is different to that of the Plaintiff’s hotels.

Upon considering the submissions of both parties Commercial High Court of Colombo Judge Pradeep Hettiarachchi granted an Interim Injunction preventing the Defendants from using the name ‘Arvani’ and/or any other name identical and/or misleadingly similar to and/or nearly resembling the ‘Avani’ trademarks in any manner whatsoever.

The Plaintiffs were represented in Court by Dr. Harsha Cabral PC, Nishan Premathiratne AAL, and Vikum Jayasinghe AAL on the instructions of Juanita Perera, while the Defendants were represented by Thishya Weragoda AAL, Pulasthi Rupasinha on the instructions of Messrs. D. L. and F. de Saram.