InterContinental Hotels Group has taken legal action against James Parker’s casino group for using the name Crown Resorts. According to a statement from the hotel group, the name of Crown Resort is too similar to that of one of the hotel brands, Crown Plaza Hotels and Resorts. To avoid customer confusion, InterContinental is asking Packer to change its name.
The measure also covers certain Crown properties such as Crown Sydney (Burangaroo), Crown Hotel, Crown Spa, Crown Perth, Crown Melbourne and Crown Poker. Carolyn Deanberg, vice president, says the Crown Plaza brand is critical and is taking steps to protect the brand and avoid confusion with customers. She says one of the main reasons people book at the Crown Plaza Hotel is that the name is known and trusted.
Packer is ready for a legal battle because he believes these names are essential trademarks for the business. In 2013, Crown changed its name from Crown Limited to Crown Resorts so that the company could be known as a luxury hotel operator.
The trademark dispute is not alien to Packer and Crown Resorts has launched legal action against Sydney-based property developer Crown Group Holdings, which many say they believe the developer’s properties are linked to the Crown brand. Ewan Sunito founded The Crown Group 17 years ago in partnership with Paul Satio. The company is primarily building or working on $3.5 billion worth of housing developments in Sydney. This ambiguity became more important when Packer jumped into residential real estate with a proposed $2 billion coastal Barangaroo casino resort.