Staywell Hospitality Group Pty Ltd v Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Court: Court of Appeal (Singapore)
• Judgment Date: 29 November 2013
• Docket Number: Civil Appeals Nos 147 and 148 of 2012
• Date: 29 November 2013

[2013] SGCA 65

Court of Appeal

Sundaresh Menon CJ

,

Chao Hick Tin JA

and

VKRajah JA

Civil Appeals Nos 147 and 148 of 2012

Staywell Hospitality Group Pty Ltd

Plaintiff

and

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc and another and another appeal

Defendant

Davinder Singh SC, Dedar Singh Gill and Gabriel Ong Sheng Li (Drew & Napier LLC) (instructed), and Prithipal Singh (Mirandah Law LLP) for the appellant in CA 147/2012 and the respondent in CA 148/2012

Tan Tee Jim SC and Wee Jiawei Darrell (Lee & Lee) (instructed), and Elaine Tan Ee Lian and Magdalene Lie (Amica Law LLC) for the respondents in CA 147/2012 and the appellants in CA 148/2012

Prof Ng-Loy Wee Loon as amicus curiae.

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Trade Marks And Trade Names—Registration criteria—Conflicts with earlier marks—Applicant seeking registration of trade mark in respect of hotel services—Whether there were grounds for opposition under s 8 (2) (b) Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed) — Section 8 (2) (b) Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed)

Trade Marks And Trade Names—Registration criteria—Conflicts with earlier marks—Applicant seeking registration of trade mark in respect of hotel services—Whether there were grounds for opposition under s 8 (4) (b) (i) Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed) —Section 8 (4) (b) (i) Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed)

Trade Marks And Trade Names—Registration criteria—Conflicts with earlier marks—Applicant seeking registration of trade mark in respect of hotel services—Whether there were grounds for opposition under s 8 (7) (a) Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed) — Section 8 (7) (a) Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed)

Tort—Passing off—Goodwill—Foreign business seeking to establish goodwill in Singapore—Whether pre-trading activity sufficient to establish goodwill—Section 8 (7) (a) Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed)

Staywell Hospitality Group Pty Ltd (‘Staywell’) applied to register a series of two marks (‘the Applicant Mark’) in Singapore under Classes 35 and 43, which related to advertising and marketing services, and hotel and food and beverage services respectively. Sheraton International, Inc and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (collectively, ‘the Opponents’), which owned the Singapore-registered word mark ST. REGIS (‘the Opponent Mark’) in respect of hotel and food and beverage services, opposed the registration before the Principal Assistant Registrar (‘PAR’) of the Registry of Trade Marks. The Opponents relied on, inter alia, ss 8 (2) (b), 8 (4) (b) (i) and 8 (7) (a) of the Trade Marks Act (Cap 332, 2005 Rev Ed) (‘the Act’). The PAR allowed the opposition under ss 8 (2) (b) and 8 (4) (b) (i) of the Act and rejected the opposition under s 8 (7) (a) of the Act. Staywell appealed against the PAR's decision in respect of ss 8 (2) (b) and 8 (4) (b) (i) of the Act, while the Opponents appealed against the rejection of the opposition under s 8 (7) (a) of the Act. The High Court judge (‘the Judge’) allowed Staywell's appeal in relation to ss 8 (2) (b) and 8 (4) (b) (i) of the Act, finding that although the parties' marks were similar and...