Lodha brothers’ trademark row: Bombay High Court proposes mediation

The Bombay High Court on Monday proposed to send the trademark dispute between real estate moguls and brothers Abhishek Lodha and Abhinandan Lodha to mediation, headed by a retired Chief Justice of India.

The High Court’s single bench, led by Justice Arif Doctor, has given both parties time until tomorrow to inform the court regarding their response to the suggestion of appointing a mediator.

According to the court, since the matter is between two brothers, efforts should be made to resolve the dispute mutually through mediums like mediation instead of engaging in a prolonged legal battle.

“The genesis appears to be between two brothers—has any effort been made to sit down and resolve it?” the court remarked.

In response, senior counsel Darius Khambata, appearing for the Abhishek Lodha-run Macrotech Developers Ltd (Lodha Group), said they agreed to mediation but emphasized that it should be time-bound.

The court agreed, stating that the mediation would be time-bound, clarifying that the time limit for the mediation would not exceed two weeks.

The court will now hear the case on 28 January.

Also read | Lodha versus Lodha: How a family agreement brought the Lodha brothers to battle

The origin of the dispute

Abhishek Lodha’s company has sought damages of over ₹5,000 crore alleging that the House of Abhinandan Lodha, run by the younger sibling, unlawfully used the ‘Lodha’ and ‘Lodha Group’ brand names.

The origin of the dispute between the Lodha brothers dates back to 2015, when they decided to part ways. Abhinandan founded The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) while Abhishek continued to manage the family’s real estate business under Macrotech Developers.

Their separation was formalized through a family settlement agreement in March 2017, which outlined the terms of the split. Under this agreement, Abhishek retained control of the real estate business, while Abhinandan was to focus on a new venture unrelated to real estate. The agreement also specified that all intellectual property, including trademarks related to real estate, would remain with Macrotech.

A non-compete clause in the settlement prohibited Abhinandan from engaging in real estate activities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Area for five years and in Greater London for certain periods.

A new agreement was entered into in December 2023 affirming the restrictions on using names similar to or containing the ‘Lodha’ brand, including ‘Lodha Ventures’.

Another counsel for Abhishek Lodha, Janak Dwarkadas, argued that while a family agreement was reached in 2017, a subsequent agreement drawn in 2023 was terminated due to Abhinandan’s alleged repudiation.

Also read | Lodha vs Lodha: Abhishek Lodha on the battle between the brothers for the Lodha brand

Macrotech’s list of demands

Macrotech has accused Abhinandan’s firms of willfully infringing on its registered ‘Lodha’ trademark. In September 2024, Macrotech formally demanded that Abhinandan’s company cease using the ‘Lodha’ and ‘Lodha Group’ names and issue disclaimers to clarify that its business was not connected to Macrotech.

Abhinandan’s company in a response from on 25 October admitted to using the name ‘Lodha Ventures’ but failed to deactivate certain domain names that Macrotech had previously identified as infringing its ‘Lodha’ trademark. 

Macrotech alleged that despite the agreements, Abhinandan’s companies continued to use the ‘Lodha’ name, causing confusion and infringing on Macrotech’s intellectual property.

Macrotech’s has claimed that Abhinandan’s actions were intentional, and that the trademarks used by his companies were strikingly similar to Macrotech’s registered marks. It also argued that these similarities indicated bad faith on the part of Abhinandan’s companies, and that these were intentionally registered to mislead consumers into believing there was a connection between their businesses.

Macrotech has sought several remedies from the court. These include permanently restraining Abhinandan’s companies, along with their directors, shareholders, and associates, from using the ‘Lodha’ trademark or any similar marks. Macrotech has also sought an injunction to prevent the defendants from offering or advertising services that could cause confusion among consumers.

Macrotech is demanding ₹5,000 crore in damages for trademark infringement as well as the disclosure of detailed financial records from the defendants to safeguard its interests. Macrotech has also requested the destruction of any materials bearing the infringing trademark.

Also read | Lodha vs Lodha: Why family names as brand names are always tough to disentangle