Archive · 22 Dec 2025
Bombay High Court Denies HOM Trademark Relief
The Bombay High Court recently made a decision about a fight between two restaurants over the use of the letters 'HOM'.
One restaurant, House of Mandarin, wanted to stop another restaurant from using 'HOM' because they thought it was too similar to their name.
However, the court said no because House of Mandarin didn't prove that everyone knows them by 'HOM' and that people might get confused.
The other restaurant said they chose 'HOM' because it means something in Sanskrit related to their cooking style.
The court agreed that their customers are smart enough to tell the difference, so both restaurants can keep using 'HOM' for now.
Bombay High Court denied interim relief to House of Mandarin in a trademark dispute over the 'HOM' acronym.
The court ruled that the plaintiff failed to prove that 'HOM' is widely recognized as their brand abbreviation.
The defendant argued that 'HOM' was derived from Sanskrit and unrelated to the plaintiff's brand.
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh noted that both restaurants cater to a well-informed consumer base, reducing the likelihood of confusion.
The court dismissed the claim of 'passing off' and allowed the rival restaurant to continue using the 'HOM' mark.
- Who
- House of Mandarin (plaintiff) and a rival restaurant (defendant)
- What
- Bombay High Court denied interim relief in a trademark dispute over the 'HOM' acronym
- When
- December 19
- Where
- Bombay High Court, Mumbai
- Why
- The court found that the plaintiff did not establish a prima facie case for an injunction and that the likelihood of consumer confusion was low
- Plaintiff
- House of Mandarin
- Defendant
- Rival restaurant using 'HOM'
- Court
- Bombay High Court
- Judge
- Justice Sharmila Deshmukh
- Ruling Date
- December 19
- Plaintiff's Establishment Year
- 2017
- Defendant's Establishment Year
- October 2025
- Key Issue
- Trademark infringement of 'HOM'