Titanic Spa sinks rival in court case

Yorkshire spa resort Titanic Spa has been successful in a legal challenge against Titanic Hotel Liverpool over the use of its name.

During a three-day High Court trial, Titanic Spa's lawyers claimed against Titanic Hotel Liverpool for trademark infringement and passing off. Both claims were successful and the judge, Mr Justice Carr, found that Titanic Hotel Liverpool had had caused consumer confusion among its namesake’s client base.

Titanic Hotel Liverpool opened in 2014 - nine years after Titanic Spa. The Yorkshire spa said it immediately began receiving calls from confused customers, who were under the impression that the Liverpool hotel was part of the same operation, or somehow connected to it.

The level of confusion prompted Property Renaissance, Titanic Spa’s operator, to take legal action, which has now resulted in Titanic Hotel Liverpool being ordered to take measures to reduce the likelihood of confusion, including stopping the use of the word ‘spa’ and placing a disclaimer on its website.

Titanic Spa director of operations Amy Burton said: "The decision to go to court was not one we took lightly. We are well known in the industry and have no fear of healthy competition but we couldn’t stand by and allow our brand to be diluted in this way.”