In a major win for the Tata Group-owned Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), the Delhi High Court has restrained Vivanta Stays and Vivanta Realty from using the renowned trademark ‘VIVANTA’, which the court had previously recognised as a well-known mark associated with Taj Hotels. The order, passed by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on October 17, 2025, directed the suspension of infringing websites, social media accounts, and related financial and communication channels.
Background
The plaintiff, IHCL-established in 1902 as part of the Tata Group—runs several luxury and business hotel brands including Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta, and Ginger. Since coining VIVANTA in 2008, IHCL has operated over 35 hotels under this brand across 33 destinations. The mark was declared well-known by the Delhi High Court in 2022 and is listed in India’s Trade Mark Registry.
IHCL discovered in April 2025 that a company named Vivanta Stays was using its mark to promote luxury villa rentals on various platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and its website vivantastays.com. After receiving a cease-and-desist notice, the entity promised to rebrand and even took down some content. But the relief was short-lived-IHCL soon found that the company had merely shifted its operations to another domain, vivantastay.in, continuing to market its services under the same infringing name.
The probe also revealed a link between Vivanta Stays and Vivanta Realty, another Pune-based company that had earlier given an undertaking not to use the ‘VIVANTA’ mark.
Court's Observations
Justice Arora examined the evidence presented by IHCL, including social media pages, promotional materials, and replies from the defendants themselves. The court noted that Defendant No. 2 (Vivanta Realty) had earlier acknowledged IHCL's ownership and assured discontinuation, yet appeared to have resumed operations through another entity.
"The use of an identical mark 'VIVANTA' by the defendants for running their vacation and realty business ex-facie infringes the plaintiff’s well-known trademark," the court observed.
The bench further remarked that Vivanta Stays appeared to be a fraudulent entity, untraceable and accused of misleading consumers. Such conduct, it held, "would cause confusion among unwary customers who might wrongly believe the defendants’ services were connected with the plaintiff."
Referring to the earlier recognition of VIVANTA as a well-known mark, the court emphasized that the brand’s goodwill and global presence entitled IHCL to protection against imitation or misuse.
Court's Decision
Finding a prima facie case of infringement and passing off, the Delhi High Court issued a strong ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining the defendants from any use of the VIVANTA mark-online or offline.
The order directed that:
- Vivanta Stays and Vivanta Realty and all associated persons are barred from using the name VIVANTA or any deceptively similar variant in their branding, business, or advertisements.
- The infringing website vivantastay.in must be locked and suspended by the domain registrar (GoDaddy) within one week.
- The telecom provider Reliance Jio must share KYC details of the phone number linked to the infringing business.
- HDFC Bank must provide the KYC information of the account used by the defendants.
- All social media pages and other online content carrying the VIVANTA mark must be taken down immediately.
"The balance of convenience lies with the plaintiff," Justice Arora held, adding that failing to restrain the defendants would cause irreparable harm to IHCL’s goodwill and the public’s trust.
The matter will next be heard on February 26, 2026, following compliance and service reports to be filed in December 2025.
Case Title: The Indian Hotels Company Limited vs Vivanta Stays & Ors.
Case Number: CS (COMM) 1109/2025 & I.A. 25754–25760/2025
Date of Order: 17 October 2025