Family Names As Brand Names: Tough To Disentangle

A final court verdict in the Lodha brothers' dispute may take years coming

- SANDEEP GOYAL

Honest to God, Leo Tolstoy was a hundred percent on-target when he wrote in Anna Karenina that "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Abhishek Lodha and Abhinandan Lodha are at loggerheads over the 'Lodha' brand name, which is also their family name—a brand name that has ostensibly seen ₹1,700 crore invested in its build-up in the past decade alone.

Much has been written on the Lodha versus Lodha brand brawl in the past few days. Such family disputes are not new. Munjals representing various branches of the family are battling over the 'Hero' brand name, which they have together owned since the 1950s, for the past few years. The various Kirloskars are at war over their namesake brand. The Srinivasans of TVS, though, seem to have had a sensible family MoU that has averted any dirty laundry being washed in public.

Family names as brand names are always tougher to disentangle. But there are name situations that are even tougher. The Oberoi family of Oberoi Hotels is different from realtor Vikas (Vicky) Oberoi's. Yet, both have used the Oberoi brand name in different domains for years and years. Both families are not even related to each other. Yet, each has a legitimate claim to the surname Oberoi.