Lodha brothers trademark dispute: Bombay high court recommends mediation

The Bombay High Court on Monday proposed that the trademark dispute between brothers Abhishek Lodha and Abhinandan Lodha, real estate tycoons, be sent to mediation, led by the retired Chief Justice of India.

A single bench of the High Court, headed by Justice Arif Doctor, has given both parties till tomorrow time to inform the court of their response to the recommendation to appoint a mediator.

The court held that since the matter was between two brothers, the dispute should be resolved jointly through mediation and other methods rather than a long-term legal battle.

“The matter appears to have arisen between two brothers – was there any effort to sit down and resolve the matter?” the court said.

In response, senior lawyer Darius Kambhata, brother of Abhishek Lodha and managing director of Macrotech Developers Ltd (Lodha Group), said they agreed to mediation but stressed that it should be time-limited.

The court agreed, noting that mediation was time-limited.

The court will hear the case on January 28.

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The origin of the controversy

Abhishek Lodha’s company has sought damages exceeding $The Abhinandan Lodha family, run by his brother, has been accused of illegally using the brand name “Lodha” and “Lodha Group” worth Rs 5,000 crore.

The origins of the feud between the Lodha brothers date back to 2015, when they decided to go their separate ways. Abhinandan founded The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), while Abhishek continues to manage the family’s real estate business under Macrotech Developers.

In March 2017, they officially separated through a family settlement agreement, which outlined the terms of their separation. Under the agreement, Abhishek retains control of the real estate business while Abhinandan will focus on new ventures not related to real estate. The agreement also provides that all intellectual property rights, including trademarks related to the real estate, will be owned by Macrotech.

The non-compete clause in the settlement agreement prohibits Abhinandan from engaging in real estate activities in the Mumbai metropolitan area for five years and in Greater London for a specified period.

A new agreement was signed in December 2023 confirming restrictions on the use of names similar to or containing the “Lodha” brand, including “Lodha Ventures”.

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Macrotech’s wish list

Macrotech accused Abhinandan’s company of willful infringement of its registered ‘Lodha’ trademark. In September 2024, Macrotech formally requested Abhinandan’s company to stop using the names “Lodha” and “Lodha Group” and issue a disclaimer clarifying that its business had nothing to do with Macrotech.

In its response on October 25, Abhinandan’s company admitted to using the name “Lodha Ventures” but failed to deactivate certain domain names that Macrotech had previously determined to be infringing on its “Lodha” trademark.

Macrotech claimed that despite these agreements, Abhinandan’s company continued to use the “Lodha” name, causing confusion and infringing Macrotech’s intellectual property rights.

Macrotech claimed that Abhinandan’s actions were intentional and that the trademark used by his company was very similar to Macrotech’s registered trademark. It also argued that the similarities showed bad faith on the part of Abhinandan’s companies, which were registered to mislead consumers into believing there was a link between their businesses.

Macrotech has sought several remedies from the courts. These include a permanent restriction on the use of the “Lodha” trademark or any similar mark by Abhinandan’s company and its directors, shareholders and associates. Macrotech also seeks an injunction to prevent the defendants from providing services or advertising that are likely to cause confusion among consumers.

Macro technical requirements are very high $Trademark infringement caused losses of Rs 5,000 crore and detailed financial records of the defendants were disclosed to protect their interests. Macrotech also requires the destruction of any materials bearing infringing trademarks.

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