A major U.S. airline has entered a legal battle with the world’s largest hotel chain.
In a lawsuit that proceeded to court on Monday, Delta Air Lines has accused Marriott International of trademark infringement for similarities between the hotel chain’s Delta Hotels brand and the airline’s own branding.
Marriott acquired the Canada-based Delta Hotels brand in 2015, but the hotel brand itself dates back more than 50 years in Western Canada.
In court documents, the airline accused Marriott of “hijacking” its brand. According to Delta Air Lines, shortly after acquiring the hotel brand, Marriott changed Delta Hotels’ logo from a cursive font to one that closely mirrored the airline’s branding.
“Marriott has embarked upon a calculated strategy of not only gratuitously using the name DELTA for its DELTA HOTELS chain of hotels in the United States, but also has adopted a sans-serif font and dark blue color scheme for its DELTA HOTELS business that closely mimics the font and color scheme used by Delta,” the court filing states.
The lawsuit further accuses Marriott of intentionally trying to use the airline’s brand reputation and goodwill to shore up the Delta Hotels brand while diluting Delta Air Lines’ brand.
Additionally, the airline alleges that after acquiring Delta Hotels, Marriott “rapidly expanded” the brand from Canada to the U.S. and internationally, which it says created more confusion for customers between the two travel brands.
In the revamped logo, however, Delta Hotels’ branding does include Marriott’s name or the words “By Marriott,” which seems aimed to clarify who owns the hotel.
The lawsuit was first filed back in the spring of 2020 just before the pandemic, so these tensions have been simmering under the radar for years. Now, the two companies are finally heading to court to settle the dispute.
As part of the case, Delta Air Lines is requesting undisclosed monetary damages for the alleged harm to its brand.
The lawsuit was first reported by aviation blog View From the Wing, and the court documents were posted by Paddle Your Own Kanoo.
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