A small hotel in Henan Province has found itself in a legal battle with a major national chain over its name, mirroring a recent, high-profile trademark case in the province.

Following the widely reported lawsuit against a Nanyang noodle shop by the chain "Meet the Noodles," a hotel owner in Pingdingshan has come forward with a similar story. The owner of a small establishment called "Orange Hotel" (橘子宾馆) has been sued by the chain hotel brand "Orange Hotel Management (China) Co., Ltd." for alleged trademark infringement, with the plaintiff seeking 100,000 yuan in damages.

On June 22nd, the owner, Ms. Feng, stated that her hotel is very small, with only 16 rooms. She emphasized that she has not used any graphics, logos, or interior designs similar to those of the "Orange Hotel" (桔子酒店) chain and cannot accept the infringement claim. "I feel like I was just walking along and then, bam, something hit me out of nowhere—a disaster falling from the sky," she described.

Ms. Feng recounted that she unexpectedly received a court summons on June 14th. The plaintiff is the well-known chain "Orange Hotel," citing trademark infringement, demanding 100,000 yuan, and requiring her to change the name "Orange Hotel."

Ms. Feng explained that her hotel opened in 2017. The legal representative was originally her father-in-law, and the registration was transferred to her name this year, though she has always been the operator. "When registering that day, we tried four or five names, but they were all rejected due to duplication," she said. With all her documents ready, she thought of a simple fruit-related name. "Children all like to eat oranges, so I thought I'd try inputting 'Orange Hotel.' It went through successfully, so I registered it directly."

The business license provided by Ms. Feng shows the registered name as "Pingdingshan New District Orange Hotel," with a registration date of August 21, 2017. Initially, the hotel had 10 rooms. In 2019, when the neighboring shop became available for sublet, Ms. Feng paid a transfer fee and expanded by 7 more rooms. After deducting one room lost to renovations, the hotel now has 16 rooms, with room rates ranging from 60 to 100 yuan.

Ms. Feng believes her hotel has not infringed any rights. She points out that her chosen name is "橘子" (orange), which is visually different in font from the chain's "桔子" (also orange). Furthermore, her establishment is called "Orange Hotel" (宾馆), not "Orange Hotel" (酒店), which she argues prevents public confusion. "Additionally, I haven't used the same logo, your English letters, or your interior design style," she added.

The civil complaint she received states that the defendant's operation of "'Orange Hotel' without authorization from the plaintiff, and the unauthorized use of an identifier containing the characters 'Orange,' constitutes infringement. The alleged infringing identifier is highly similar to the plaintiff's registered trademark in overall appearance, pronunciation, and meaning, which is highly likely to cause confusion and misidentification among consumers,涉嫌侵害原告的商标权 (suspected of infringing the plaintiff's trademark rights)."

The complaint also notes that the plaintiff claims specific losses amount to over 5 million yuan. It calculates that since the defendant's "Orange Hotel" opened in 2017 with 15 rooms, the plaintiff's losses are as high as 5.84 million yuan [based on an average room rate of 250 yuan x 8 rooms (50% occupancy) x 2,920 days over 8 years]. The defendant's alleged profit is calculated at 2.7 million yuan [based on an average room rate of 116 yuan x 8 rooms (50% occupancy) x 2,920 days]. The complaint also references franchise fees the plaintiff charged years ago reaching 200,000 yuan, as well as expenses the plaintiff has incurred, such as a 95-yuan room booking fee, notarization fees, and lawyer fees.

The plaintiff, "Orange Hotel Management (China) Co., Ltd.," requests the court to rule that the defendant immediately ceases actions infringing upon the plaintiff's exclusive rights to the registered trademarks "Orange Hotel," "Orange Crystal Hotel," and "Orange Hotel · Select." This includes stopping the use of identifiers identical or similar to "Orange" or "Orange Hotel" in hotel exteriors, signage, internal supplies, decoration, online presence, and external promotional activities. The plaintiff also demands the defendant alter or remove all "Orange" identifiers from platforms like Meituan, Ctrip, Tongcheng, Elong, Fliggy, and Gaode, as well as from the hotel's facade and interior, and refrain from future use of such similar identifiers.

Furthermore, the plaintiff requests a ruling that the defendant immediately cease acts of unfair competition, change its business name, and refrain from using text identical or similar to "Orange." Additionally, the plaintiff seeks compensation totaling 100,000 yuan for economic losses and reasonable expenses incurred to stop the infringement.

On the morning of June 22nd, the plaintiff's attorney confirmed they are representing "Orange Hotel" in the trademark infringement lawsuit against "Orange Hotel." When asked for further details, the attorney declined to comment.

Calls to the customer service line of Huazhu, the parent group of "Orange Hotel," were answered by a staff member who stated they would record the contact information and have relevant personnel respond later. As of the time of reporting, no response had been received.