Branding Fever Hits Dizzy New Low
Does this look like an $8.6 million "superblock" development to you?
March 16, 2016 — Brookfield Property Partners plays Goliath in this tale. The four-story, 31-room Manhattan West Hotel plays David.
Brookfield, developer of the $8.6 billion, 7 million square-foot, mixed-use superblock called Manhattan West, has sued the hotel of of the same name for trademark infringement, The Real Deal reports. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court last week, claims that the hotel’s use of the brand name “has led and will lead” intelligent human beings to believe that the little hotel and the massive development are a joint venture. Weirder things have almost definitely happened.
A receptionist at the Manhattan West Hotel, located at 303 W. 30th Street at Eighth Avenue, was unaware the lawsuit had been filed. A request for a comment from hotel management went unanswered.
Goliath is seeking a “permanent injunction” prohibiting David from using the Manhattan West name. Goliath also seeks damages “it has sustained or will sustain” from David’s trademark infringement.
Goliath is unlikely to have trouble paying any looming legal fees. Last October, Goliath sold a 44 percent stake in the $8.6 billion Manhattan West development to the Qatar Investment Authority.