The Rajasthan High Court has declined to stay an order by a local court restraining the global hospitality chain Hilton from using its brands in India. Hilton International,headquartered in the US,had approached the High Court seeking to lift a restrain order on it by a Sirohi ADJ on a petition by a local hotel group Hilltone. "I am of the opinion that judgement of the learned trial court is not required to be stayed because,admittedly,Hilltone Hotel is pursuing their business under the registration,which is made prior to the registration of the Hilton)",Justice Gopal Krishna Vyas of the Jodhpur Bench of the High Court said in a recent order. The court further said that apprehension of the Hilton Hotel that it will suffer 'irreparable loss',is totally unfounded as trial court has not quashed their registration and they are running their business in the same name. "When registration of the Hilton Hotel has not been quashed and it is still in existence in their name and they are running their business in the said registered name,as such their apprehension is totally unfounded that due to judgement impugned they will suffer irreparable loss",the court said. Hilton International Corporation,which runs a chain of hotels across the globe,had moved the Rajasthan High Court challenging the order of the Sirohi Court barring it from carrying out business in India under a brand deceptively similar to the Hilltone Hotel. Sirohi Additional District Judge Narinder Singh Dadda had in April restrained the international hospitality group from using any kind of "misleading logo and mark",which has potential to cause confusion among the general public and directed it not to carry on the business of hotel and food items under "such duplicate trademark". Sirohi-based Hotel Hilltone,which was founded in 1973,had taken legal recourse to stop American hotel major from using any brand name identical to Hilltone. Hilton has a joint venture in India with DLF. It has three hotel properties,including two in Delhi. Conrad Hilton had started his first hotel in 1919 and founded the international chain of hotels named Hilton in 1925 in Dallas,Texas.
