Luxury chain St Regis Singapore loses trademark battle
Four-star hotel wins appeal; trademarks are visually different, says judge
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ST REGIS: The owners of St Regis successfully applied to the Registrar of Trade Marks last year to stop Park Regis from registering that name as a trademark, arguing that the public was likely to be confused. -- BT FILE PHOTO
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PARK REGIS: Staywell Hospitality Group, which owns Park Regis, argued in its appeal to the High Court this year that the target clientele of both hotels was not the same and that this was evident from website comparisons. -- BT FILE PHOTO
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ST REGIS: The owners of St Regis successfully applied to the Registrar of Trade Marks last year to stop Park Regis from registering that name as a trademark, arguing that the public was likely to be confused. -- BT FILE PHOTO
PARK REGIS: Staywell Hospitality Group, which owns Park Regis, argued in its appeal to the High Court this year that the target clientele of both hotels was not the same and that this was evident from website comparisons. -- BT FILE PHOTO
Six-star hotel St Regis Singapore was not amused when a four-star rival called Park Regis Singapore opened in 2010. Afraid that the public would think both names were linked, it successfully applied to the Registrar of Trade Marks last year to stop Park Regis from registering that name as a trademark.
It also argued then but failed to convince the registrar that Park Regis was "passing off" as a St Regis brand, which would have potentially stopped the Park Regis name from being used.
Park Regis filed an appeal and the High Court has now allowed it to register its name as a trademark. It overruled the Registrar of Trade Marks and said while both names bore some similarity, there was no possibility of confusion.
Justice Judith Prakash, in her 38-page judgment grounds released last week, noted the trademarks accompanying both names were visually dissimilar and there was enough doubt in people's minds that both were associated.
