Kayak and HotelTonight Trademark Dispute Ends in Partnership

As HotelTonight allegedly used "increasingly threatening tones," Kayak filed a lawsuit and the two companies recently entered into a distribution partnership after settling a trademark dispute last year. In a trademark flap that has received scant publicity, Kayak filed a civil suit against HotelTonight in March 2015 in a Connecticut federal court, seeking a declaratory judgment over whether it was legal for Kayak to use the phrase "Hotel for tonight" in its mobile app. Kayak claimed that it was "fair use" for the metasearch site to use the phrase "Hotel for tonight" despite HotelTonight's trademarked name and that there would be no cause for confusion among consumers about the two companies because Kayak used the phrase in tandem with its trademarked and recognized Kayak logo. On February 25, 2015 HotelTonight sent a letter to the Priceline Group, Kayak's parent, alleging that Kayak's use of "Hotel for tonight" violated the HotelTonight trademark, according to the Kayak complaint. "Despite efforts since that date to try to settle the matter, Hotel Tonight has maintained its contention in increasingly threatening tones that Kayak's u