Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: One of the renowned five star hotels of the world, the “Ramada Islamabad” is violating intellectual property and patent laws and also befooling the masses at large by using the brand name of an international hotel chain without its permission.

“Ramada Worldwide” is an international brand owned and operated by Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, an American company holding several hotel brands across the world. Currently, over 800 hotels in 63 countries are registered with this international hotel chain and operating across the globe in the name of Ramada Worldwide.

But, it was informed by some customers regarding the unauthorised use of the international brand name ‘Ramada’ by a private hotel, which is situated on the main Murree Road of Islamabad. Following the complains of the general public, Daily Times contacted the public relations and communication department of Wyndham Hotel Group via email and inquired about the status of Ramada Islamabad.

In response, the Director, PR & Communications of said group, Mr. Haley Borisoff, categorically disowned “Ramada Islamabad” and wrote; “Currently, the Wyndham Hotel Group has two Ramada hotels in Pakistan, both of which operate under franchise arrangement. These are: Ramada Plaza Karachi and Ramada Multan.”

The email further explained: “We have been made aware that additionally a small number of hotels are using the Ramada brand in Pakistan without our permission and we are in the process of taking the necessary legal steps to deal with the matter.”

When contacted for their response, the management of Ramada Islamabad, via email, the Manager Finance, Mr. Younas, responded and claimed that initially his hotel was in a contract with Ramada worldwide, but later on they distanced themselves from our hotel.

He further claimed that our owners filed a case in the court against the said international hotel chain as they are invested a huge amount on the construction of the hotel. When asked him to give some documentary proof in support of his claims, he requested to visit his office, but he has failed to provide any notification, authorisation or a “No Objection Certificate (NOC)” at the meeting or even after that besides repeated phone calls and text massages.

An insider of the Pakistan Hotel Association on the condition of anonymity commented: “Ramada Islamabad is using the international brand’s name without authorisation, which is totally wrong by all means, as it is cheating the general public, who are unaware about this fact. While responding on the issue, a renowned Supreme Court Lawyer in the field of intellectual property rights, Majid Bashir, said: “The use of an international brand without the prior permission of its owner is against the law and it can’t be continued.”

He said further; “if any international organisation proves the unauthorised use of its brand in Pakistani courts then it can be stopped as it is a violation of the trade mark and copyright laws enforced in our country.” “In view of its global importance effective enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Laws in Pakistan is of great significance. The international community adopted a number of measures in order to curtail the violations of Intellectual Property Rights across the world, but unfortunately our country is far away so far,” he added.

Intellectual Property includes a patent, industrial design, layout design of integrated circuits, copyright and related rights, service mark, trade mark, trade name. In the case of Ramada Islamabad, it is the duty of the hotel management to stop the unauthorised use of the international brand. The Hotel Management Association and the Federal Investigation Agency’s Intellectual Property Rights Branch should also take notice of this illegality as it is hurting the rights of consumers also.